Both of Us
by Once.upon.a.happy.ending
Summary: A collection of Swanfire One-Shots. This collection is also on Wattpad, but you should read it here because I edit it more thoroughly on here. I take requests, PM me or comment if you have one! I also need a beta reader!
1. Wanted Memories

Emma was doing something that she had needed to do for some time. Cleaning out the closet, unpacking boxes from when she first moved in, things she needed to complete a while ago in order to declutter the room. The house was small, Henry in one room upstairs, Mary Margaret and David downstairs.

Emma wasn't really paying attention to much, just cleaning up, when she came across an old box filled with things that meant a lot to her. There was a time when it was just a ton of things in a box, but recently she had been looking for it. Of course, it was in the closet. There were so many little things that she didn't really remember in that box, but figured that they all needed stay there.

She was looking through it, not paying attention to what she might remember, but instead questioning her 13-year-old self's taste. There were a few pictures and a video of her and Lily, an old ring that she had gotten as a child, an old CD. Things like that honestly made her wonder where the important things to her had gone. Then, she was about to close it when she noticed a few pictures that were flipped face down at the bottom of the little brown box.

She went to sit on the edge of the bed. Wondering what they were of, why she didn't remember them, she turned them over. The answer should've been obvious, along with the reason that they were upside down in the box. They were of her and Neal. There was a time that he had found a Polaroid camera someplace that still had a ton of film in it, and they went crazy with it. They took pictures of everything that they saw, eventually running out of film, so Emma went and got some more, actually paying for it.

No wonder they were flipped the wrong way, she thought. She broke down sobbing when she found a picture of them just laughing, having a good time. This was why she kept them someplace that she would forget about them. They reminded her of when she was really happy, when someone actually cared about her for a reason that wasn't related to her being the person who was in charge of their happy ending. Maybe she was, she didn't know. Maybe they had both lost their happy ending when he left her to let her find her parents.

The thing that she always thought had been her happy ending may have been the reason she lost her real one. A funny thing irony was, always ripping people apart from each other, even if they were meant to be together. The worst part was that she wished that he hadn't left. She wished that she hadn't found her parents that were the same age as her, and she wished she wasn't a Saviour, whatever that was.

Her breathing was wavering as she tried to calm herself down, thinking of the few good things that were in her life now, but they just made her cry more, thinking about how Neal wasn't even one of the first five things she thought about anymore. Then, something shut her up real well as she wiped her eyes and tried to calm her breathing.

She practically sprinted down the stairs, tripping on the last step. Her breathing was still awful, and she was kind of freaking out. She wiped her eyes once more before opening the door. "Hey," She said, seeing Neal, of all people standing in the doorway. "Henry's at Regina's for the weekend," She said confusedly. Neal was the one who dropped their son off at the Mayor's house, so there was no way he didn't know that he was at Regina's.

Neal looked to the side, glancing at the bit of paint that was different from the other shade. "I know. Can I come in?" He asked, and Emma stepped back holding the door open before slamming it shut. He walked in before looking at her. "Now, what's wrong?" He asked, looking at her face. It was a lot redder than usual, her breathing was off, and her eyes were puffy. Either she had been crying, or she had awful allergies.

She shook her head, not to say it was nothing, but that she really didn't want to talk about it with him. It was embarrassing, she should be over it by now. "It doesn't matter," She whispered, avoiding his eyes. He got into her line of vision, causing her to sigh. "I was looking at some old pictures," She admitted, sounding really guilty and embarrassed. His eyes showed that he felt bad, but at the same time was dying to know if they were the ones that he left in the car for her when she was in prison.

He looked at her quizzically, and she held up a finger, going upstairs to try to find any other pictures of something else to show him. When she couldn't, she muttered a curse word and snatched them up off of the bed, going down the stairs and glaring at Neal when he made a face at her. Emma passed the thin stack of photos over to her, and he automatically knew that they were indeed the ones that he had left for her in the glove box of the bug for her. He looked through all of them, studying them, and ended up looking very guilty.

He swallowed thickly, ready to be punched by Emma, who was leaning against the counter across from him. She instead just nodded, taking them when he offered them back to her. "It kills me that those pictures make me cry now," She whispered, setting them down on the counter. It was sad for both of them to see how happy they looked in those verses how much better they had it now, but how miserable they now were.

He nodded at her statement, looking at the small stack in order to avoid eye contact. "Me too," He told her, looking into her eyes. "Emma, if I could go back to that night and change my mind, I would. Or, sooner," He told her, but she looked at him. She didn't understand. He never changed his mind, not in any way that made a difference. Maybe a few hours after he did it he realized that he was happy that he ditched her soon enough, but not in any way that could've changed how crappy her life turned out. "I wanted to go back for you. I did go back for you. It was just too late. You were already gone," He whispered, biting his lip.

Her eyes filled before he would've had the chance to tell her that he was lying, and she was breaking down on the floor in seconds. He walked over to where she was, her back to the wall and her knees to her chest, sitting beside her on the floor. At this point, they both just needed to be told that it was okay. That their time together didn't suck as much as they thought it probably did for each other.

It took his a second to gather the courage to just pull her closer to him, closing his eyes tightly as he tried not to break down as well. He knew what this was about, he understood why this was so overwhelming to her. This whole time, she thought that he never wanted her. That he left her in that alley so that he wouldn't need to be near her anymore. This was her realizing that she was not left because he wanted her to be, but it was actually for her to find her parents. He actually meant well with her.

She found her gripping his arm as he just held onto her from the side. She didn't really know what she was supposed to be doing right now, but she knew that it wasn't sobbing on the kitchen floor in Neal's arms while nobody else was home. But, she continued to break down, not really thinking anything in particular besides how awful it was that he had to leave, and how great it was to know that he really did love her.

That he still loved her. He wouldn't wish he could go back and not leave her if he didn't still love her. Maybe she was being arrogant, but maybe this was honestly the way that it was supposed to be, with them together. It felt better when they were together, it was because they understood each other. After a while, she calmed down, and they were both just sitting on the floor holding onto each other. She wanted him to ask her, but she knew that he wanted her to be comfortable and after Neverland he thought that she wouldn't be.

It was her turn with them, anyway. He asked her on a date in Portland, and now it was her turn. What she had in mind wasn't a date, but more of a question, she guessed. "Can we try again?" She asked softly as they just sat, leaning against the cabinets, holding onto each other for dear life. He couldn't see her face but he was pretty sure that she didn't mean what he thought she meant.

He looked down at her, and after a moment of just staring at her, she looked up at him. "What do you mean? And don't say never mind," He asked, then making it clear that never mind was not an answer and he would pester her about it every time he saw her until she told him. She lowered her head back down, not knowing how to answer.

She was scared and embarrassed. She didn't want him to reject her like everyone else had done. They did have a little saying, though. When they lived in the bug, Emma would tell him about other people and then tell him that she didn't want to say something because everyone else laughed at her or judged her, and he would just tell her that he wasn't everyone else. "I mean, can we be together again?" He gave her a look, staring at her for a second. She sighed, knowing what she was supposed to say now. "Can I be your girlfriend?" She asked, looking away from him again and closing her eyes tightly, not wanting to hear his response.

Neal smiled at her, knowing that she missed him teasing her, even if it scared the life out of her sometimes. "I'm not any better," He whispered. It was his turn to warn her about him, and about how he wasn't any better. He still had nightmares about his father at 3:00 am, he still thought about it at random times and zoned about.

She used her hand to pull his hand away from her. He knew this would happen, he knew that she would tell him to get out and not to come back. "What?" She asked, sounding like he had gone crazy. She supported her weight with her right hand as she sat with her legs underneath her. "What are you talking about? You're amazing," She asked, using her left hand to brush his hair out of his face.

He just shook his head at her comment, looking at the counter. It always pissed her off when he wasn't listening to her, and something about the nightmares bothered her, too. He would just screw it up again. "Are you talking about the nightmares and stuff?" She asked, and he just stared straight at the cabinets across from them, not saying a word or making a sound. "Neal, that never bothered me. It just pissed me off that someone hurt you that badly. It wasn't you that I was mad at," She whispered, looking into his eyes. He turned his head, looking at her. "I want to be with you. I just want you," She told him, not caring how ridiculously sappy it sounded. She just wanted him to feel better, and not let this get in the way.

Her eyes filled up again as she thought of the worst thing that could happen right now. Not the real worst thing, but the worst thing related to this subject. Her stomach started to ache as she thought about it. "Don't you want me? You just said that you wanted me," She whispered, taking his hand as her voice broke. He still didn't say anything, but his expression had changed. "Unless you don't want me anymore," She whispered, biting her lip and reaching to pick the pictures up off of the counter. Her eyes met his in the picture, the one where he was just watching her with a smile on his face.

Neal reached over and took the stack of photos from her, setting them on the other side of him. This was just great. She was losing him, she was losing the pictures of him. Who knew, maybe someday she would be losing the necklace, too! Maybe Henry after that, just to complete the few things she had that reminded her about him. He already had the dream catcher, so what was left to take? "Don't do that to yourself," He whispered, pulling her back into his arms. She had another little bout of crying before she calmed down, relaxing in his arms. "As long as you're okay with nightmares and crap…" He whispered, kissing her temple. She smiled brightly, sitting up and kissing his cheek.

She smiled, breathing deeply. She wrapped her arms around him, so glad that he did want her, not just that he used to. "Don't ever think that I don't want you," He whispered, wrapping her up in his arms. She nodded, cuddling up in his arms. "Now, what were you doing that made you find those?" He asked, knowing that she wouldn't keep them in plain sight, in case her parents would set their eyes on them and assume things. He helped her clean out her closet. They ate dinner at Granny's after that, running into her parents, who were staying with Regina for a while to help with a few things.

As they laid in bed that night, they both felt like their hearts would burst, even though they were just lying there. They were too happy, and neither had felt anything like this since they lived in Portland. "I love you," Neal whispered, putting his hand on Emma's side.

She smiled, looking back up at him. Nobody had said anything like that to her since they were together. Sure, her parents were all lovey over her, but they never told her that they loved her. Henry had only said it when she said it first, and besides that, she never heard that from anyone since they were together almost thirteen years ago. So, she said all she knew how to say, something that would keep her safe from getting hurt again.

She reached up and kissed his forehead, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. "I love you, too," She whispered, settling back into his arms and closing her eyes for the last time that night.


	2. Gone is Gone (original)

They were always physically close to each other in some way. If they weren't right next to each other, they had to be fighting or something, because Emma always lost her mind when he wasn't holding her hand, or if he wasn't right there. For some reason, just him being there would calm her down in insane amounts.

They could go to see a movie with a ton of action scenes and scary crap as long as it was together, because they would be together. Neal was the only person who was able to calm her down from a panic attack, he was the only one who was able to make her feel better after a nightmare.

So, she walked through the door one day to find the scariest thing possible. "What are you doing?" She asked, walking over and taking the dreamcatcher from his hands. He looked up at her and sighed, knowing that this was going nowhere he would like it to. "What's this?" She asked, looking at the memory displayed on the net of the dreamcatcher. Rumplestiltskin standing before a man, the one in the picture that David had showed her of his father.

Neal looked at her, sighing and rubbing his hand over his face. "You were about to burn your own memories, why would you do that?" She asked, standing and walking towards the couch and dropping the dreamcatcher on the couch, not really caring if it broke. There were plenty more in the shed outside. His eyes followed her as she walked behind the couch.

He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly and slouching in the chair. "Because I was embarrassed. I didn't know how you would react, and I just figured that it would be better if neither of us knew." He said, pushing himself up to walk around to the couch to stand before her, wanting to just take that memory back for her. His face was turning red. He had just been a little boy, but for some reason through all his time in Neverland, that memory stood out. Now he knew why.

She closed her eyes, sighing exasperatedly. She turned around, looking out the window for a split second before turning back to face her. "You really think that, after all that we've been through? That I would just leave you for what your dad did?" She asked angrily, pounding her fist into the couch's cushions. Neal looked at her, see the anger boiling in her eyes as she stared at him.

He shrugged, looking over at her, he picked something up off a shelf, playing with it before placing it back down. "I don't know, would you be able to sit there next to my dad knowing yours murdered his father in front of you?" He asked, looking to the side like he did when he was joking around with her. She wanted to slap the smirk off of his face when he did that, especially when he knew that she was so freaking pissed that she could fall off of the face of the earth, hit the moon, return, and still be angry at him for trying to burn his memories.

She sighed, looking over at him from the couch that she had glanced at just to avoid eye contact while he was talking. "I'm not saying it would be easy, but you know them! They would forgive you at the drop of a hat because they know that I love you! It's who they are! Snow White and Prince freakin' Charming!" She was yelling now, her voice cracking. This was not a dry, scary kind of anger. The only reason that it was scary was that she was on the verge of tears, which was always terrifying for Neal.

She was cut off from continuing by Neal, sighing and looking at her. "This is not only about them, Emma! This is about me and how I can't go a freaking week without making you and your family's lives just a little bit worse! I don't know how I could live knowing that anymore." He yelled, making her flinch. Yes, she was yelling at him as well, but his voice was louder and scarier than hers was.

She looked over at him, sighing as her eyes filled with tears that she was just too angry to let fall in front of him right now. "You come to me, Neal! You come to me, and you tell me what's wrong, and we deal with it together! We were done with secrets! That's what I agreed to marry, not this. Not knowing that you can't tell me something that happened three centuries ago. Until you can tell me things, you can have this back." She said, taking the plain silver ring off and placing it into his hand, walking up the staircase, leaving him behind the couch, wondering what just happened.

The rest of the day they didn't see each other again, not once. As the day went on without him there, the more she missed him. That night, she needed one of his big Neal hugs, that were so safe and warm that told her everything was okay even if they weren't, so badly. She stood in front of the window next to the door and watched to see if he was coming for a good 45 minutes before she gave up, realizing that she had lost him the second she took that ring off, turning to go back upstairs to go to bed.

Then, she heard something. She hadn't even made it to the staircase yet when the door opened, causing her to spin around and look into his eyes, realizing that she was no longer mad at him, but who could be. She ran towards him and nearly knocked him over when she threw her arms around him. "I didn't think you were coming back," she whispered, kissing his cheek as they stood, her standing on her tiptoes to reach him because of the height difference.

He breathed into her neck, knowing that there was no way she didn't miss him if she was so worried. "I wouldn't ever not come back, not unless you told me not to," he promised, leaning back at looking at her. He felt so bad about it. Her face was red, and her eyes were puffy from crying. Her breathing was mostly normal, except for the short breaths in that happened every few seconds. Her eyes watered up again as he spoke, and he led her over to the couch. "You know that, right? I won't ever not come back," he promised, pulling her back into his arms. His whole body ached with sadness for her. Knowing Emma, she probably thought that he was leaving right after this, that they were broken up because of a mistake they made.

She leaned into his arms as she calmed down, knowing that if she wanted him to stay, she needed to calm down. "I was overreacting earlier. I'm sorry for giving back the ring," she whispered, and he took it out of his pocket, handing it back to her. "Neal, I don't- you don't need to give this back," she mumbled, not wanting him to feel like he had to give it back to her, that he still had to marry her even if he didn't want to.

His heart broke.

Was that her way of saying that she wasn't actually sorry, or was she saying that he didn't have to if he didn't want to marry her. Either way, it hurt. The idea of her not wanting to marry him hurt, and the idea of her thinking he didn't want to marry her. He had barely said anything since he had come home, if anything at all; he couldn't remember. He had no idea about anything besides she had been acting as if she loved him, like she was sorry for that fight earlier, and now she was acting like she might not want to be around him. "What?" He asked, the pain in his voice evident, making her snap out of it.

She started stuttering, trying to think of something that would explain what she meant. "I-I mean if you don't want to anymore. If you don't want to marry me anymore, I don't want you to feel like you have to," she said, clarifying every little bit of information that she had to in order for him to understand what she meant. She didn't want him to not marry her, but she was saying that if he didn't want to, he didn't have to. She was saying that it was his decision. She wasn't saying that it wouldn't hurt if he said no, but she was saying that it would hurt more if he didn't want to.

He nodded, looking her in the eye. He got lost in her eyes, in trying to find out what she was thinking, that he almost didn't notice when she put the ring back in his hand and started to stand, her hand covering her mouth to hold back a sob. "Wait, Emma!" He exclaimed, pulling her back down to him and kissing her on the cheek. "I want to marry you. That's why I proposed in the first place. I want to marry you," he whispered, repeating the keywords so that she would calm down as she started breaking down again. She started sobbing, and he knew that it had been a long day for her.

He had no idea if she had left the house at all or not, but he knew that she was exhausted from waiting for him and from fighting earlier. Now, after thinking that he was never coming home again, she found out that he didn't hate her for getting that angry with him. They were engaged again. Nobody had known that they were un-engaged while they were, because Emma hadn't left the house, but they had. All of that had to be so emotionally and physically exhausting for her, no wonder she was breaking down.

So, he did what any good fiance would do. He collected her up in his arms and held her there on the couch for a few minutes, pressing soft, warm kisses onto her skin. On her arm, on her hands, and all over her face. He just held onto her tightly, remaining in one place, before he stood up. One of her arms reached up around his neck and the other rested on his shoulder as he carried her upstairs, letting her bury his face into her chest. They reached their bedroom, and he opened the door slowly, taking her inside and laying her down gently on the bed. She was already changed, which was good.

The real problem was that he wasn't. He kissed her repeatedly on the forehead before he went to the dresser, going to grab pajamas, going into the bathroom and changing in under a minute, and praying that Emma wasn't crying. He never even told her where he was going, she must be worried sick, even if she saw him going into the bathroom. He walked towards her and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the wall. "Em? I'm right here." He whispered, walking over to the bed and sitting behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She closed her eyes lightly when he kissed her temple, right beside her ear.

She smiled lightly and let him keep holding onto her, resting his head down on her shoulder; after all, she was the one that needed it, not him. He kissed everywhere that he could without moving her sleeve or her hair before she started giggling. She was still crying, which was the funny thing. If anyone were to walk in, they would think she was just crying happy tears, which was partially the truth. She just got the first person who ever loved her back after a full day without them right there after months of him being at her side 24/7. He smiled about the fact that he got a reaction out of her before pulling her onto his lap, her legs on one side of him while she was practically on top of him. Her arms swung around his neck, keeping her with him as he laid down on the bed.

This was what she missed while he was gone. She missed him being right there while she spent the day crying and eating ice cream, knowing that something like this would be happening earlier if he was there. "I love you, Em," he mumbled, kissing her temple again and letting her just lay in his arms. It was great, knowing that she was right there, even if her elbow was digging into his ribs. Just feeling that she was right there, that he didn't even have to reach over to touch her because she was already there, was enough to help him fall into a deep sleep that night.

Emma woke up slowly, lying on the couch. She hadn't fallen asleep on the couch, she had fallen asleep in her bed right beside Neal. Had he brought her downstairs? That would be awfully weird for him to do unless he wanted her to be away from him, but last night, that had been the last thing he wanted, it seemed. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he brought her down here and then left. She thought about that for a minute, the things that she knew that Neal would do if he had, in fact, left her. She got up and started looking for a note.

Every single piece of paper got her excited, wondering if it could be that note from him just telling her that he was at Granny's or had to go to Regina's to get Henry or something. She searched the whole house, looking in the least and most obvious places, knowing they were sometimes the same thing. She took out her phone and texted him, but noticed something weird. The last text was three months ago. That was around the time that he…

That was it. That was why she had fallen asleep on the couch. Neal wasn't here. Neal was never here. Neal had no idea that she had a new house, Neal had no idea about any of this. Neal just knew that she made a promise to him when he died that she would be happy, and she broke that promise like that vase earlier. Neal was never her fiance, not really. Maybe in their little thefts in Portland, but not here. Not really. He was just the father of her son, that was now buried and rotting in a hole in the ground where he would be spending no time holding her before they fell asleep or watching TV until it felt unhealthy. He wouldn't be doing any more boyfriend-y things with her because he was dead and gone.

And just like Gold always says, gone is gone.

 **This is the version without a happy ending. The next chapter does have the whole story, plus the happy ending. Read it if you want. Don't if you don't want.**


	3. Gone is Gone (updated)

They were always physically close to each other in some way. If they weren't right next to each other, they had to be fighting or something, because Emma always lost her mind when he wasn't holding her hand, or if he wasn't right there. For some reason, just him being there would calm her down in insane amounts.

They could go to see a movie with a ton of action scenes and scary crap as long as it was together, because they would be together. Neal was the only person who was able to calm her down from a panic attack, he was the only one who was able to make her feel better after a nightmare.

So, she walked through the door one day to find the scariest thing possible. "What are you doing?" She asked, walking over and taking the dreamcatcher from his hands. He looked up at her and sighed, knowing that this was going nowhere he would like it to. "What's this?" She asked, looking at the memory displayed on the net of the dreamcatcher. Rumplestiltskin standing before a man, the one in the picture that David had showed her of his father.

Neal looked at her, sighing and rubbing his hand over his face. "You were about to burn your own memories, why would you do that?" She asked, standing and walking towards the couch and dropping the dreamcatcher on the couch, not really caring if it broke. There were plenty more in the shed outside. His eyes followed her as she walked behind the couch.

He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly and slouching in the chair. "Because I was embarrassed. I didn't know how you would react, and I just figured that it would be better if neither of us knew." He said, pushing himself up to walk around to the couch to stand before her, wanting to just take that memory back for her. His face was turning red. He had just been a little boy, but for some reason through all his time in Neverland, that memory stood out. Now he knew why.

She closed her eyes, sighing exasperatedly. She turned around, looking out the window for a split second before turning back to face her. "You really think that, after all that we've been through? That I would just leave you for what your dad did?" She asked angrily, pounding her fist into the couch's cushions. Neal looked at her, see the anger boiling in her eyes as she stared at him.

He shrugged, looking over at her, he picked something up off a shelf, playing with it before placing it back down. "I don't know, would you be able to sit there next to my dad knowing yours murdered his father in front of you?" He asked, looking to the side like he did when he was joking around with her. She wanted to slap the smirk off of his face when he did that, especially when he knew that she was so freaking pissed that she could fall off of the face of the earth, hit the moon, return, and still be angry at him for trying to burn his memories.

She sighed, looking over at him from the couch that she had glanced at just to avoid eye contact while he was talking. "I'm not saying it would be easy, but you know them! They would forgive you at the drop of a hat because they know that I love you! It's who they are! Snow White and Prince freakin' Charming!" She was yelling now, her voice cracking. This was not a dry, scary kind of anger. The only reason that it was scary was that she was on the verge of tears, which was always terrifying for Neal.

She was cut off from continuing by Neal, sighing and looking at her. "This is not only about them, Emma! This is about me and how I can't go a freaking week without making you and your family's lives just a little bit worse! I don't know how I could live knowing that anymore." He yelled, making her flinch. Yes, she was yelling at him as well, but his voice was louder and scarier than hers was.

She looked over at him, sighing as her eyes filled with tears that she was just too angry to let fall in front of him right now. "You come to me, Neal! You come to me, and you tell me what's wrong, and we deal with it together! We were done with secrets! That's what I agreed to marry, not this. Not knowing that you can't tell me something that happened three centuries ago. Until you can tell me things, you can have this back." She said, taking the plain silver ring off and placing it into his hand, walking up the staircase, leaving him behind the couch, wondering what just happened.

The rest of the day they didn't see each other again, not once. As the day went on without him there, the more she missed him. That night, she needed one of his big Neal hugs, that were so safe and warm that told her everything was okay even if they weren't, so badly. She stood in front of the window next to the door and watched to see if he was coming for a good 45 minutes before she gave up, realizing that she had lost him the second she took that ring off, turning to go back upstairs to go to bed.

Then, she heard something. She hadn't even made it to the staircase yet when the door opened, causing her to spin around and look into his eyes, realizing that she was no longer mad at him, but who could be. She ran towards him and nearly knocked him over when she threw her arms around him. "I didn't think you were coming back," she whispered, kissing his cheek as they stood, her standing on her tiptoes to reach him because of the height difference.

He breathed into her neck, knowing that there was no way she didn't miss him if she was so worried. "I wouldn't ever not come back, not unless you told me not to," he promised, leaning back at looking at her. He felt so bad about it. Her face was red, and her eyes were puffy from crying. Her breathing was mostly normal, except for the short breaths in that happened every few seconds. Her eyes watered up again as he spoke, and he led her over to the couch. "You know that, right? I won't ever not come back," he promised, pulling her back into his arms. His whole body ached with sadness for her. Knowing Emma, she probably thought that he was leaving right after this, that they were broken up because of a mistake they made.

She leaned into his arms as she calmed down, knowing that if she wanted him to stay, she needed to calm down. "I was overreacting earlier. I'm sorry for giving back the ring," she whispered, and he took it out of his pocket, handing it back to her. "Neal, I don't- you don't need to give this back," she mumbled, not wanting him to feel like he had to give it back to her, that he still had to marry her even if he didn't want to.

His heart broke.

Was that her way of saying that she wasn't actually sorry, or was she saying that he didn't have to if he didn't want to marry her. Either way, it hurt. The idea of her not wanting to marry him hurt, and the idea of her thinking he didn't want to marry her. He had barely said anything since he had come home, if anything at all; he couldn't remember. He had no idea about anything besides she had been acting as if she loved him, like she was sorry for that fight earlier, and now she was acting like she might not want to be around him. "What?" He asked, the pain in his voice evident, making her snap out of it.

She started stuttering, trying to think of something that would explain what she meant. "I-I mean if you don't want to anymore. If you don't want to marry me anymore, I don't want you to feel like you have to," she said, clarifying every little bit of information that she had to in order for him to understand what she meant. She didn't want him to not marry her, but she was saying that if he didn't want to, he didn't have to. She was saying that it was his decision. She wasn't saying that it wouldn't hurt if he said no, but she was saying that it would hurt more if he didn't want to.

He nodded, looking her in the eye. He got lost in her eyes, in trying to find out what she was thinking, that he almost didn't notice when she put the ring back in his hand and started to stand, her hand covering her mouth to hold back a sob. "Wait, Emma!" He exclaimed, pulling her back down to him and kissing her on the cheek. "I want to marry you. That's why I proposed in the first place. I want to marry you," he whispered, repeating the keywords so that she would calm down as she started breaking down again. She started sobbing, and he knew that it had been a long day for her.

He had no idea if she had left the house at all or not, but he knew that she was exhausted from waiting for him and from fighting earlier. Now, after thinking that he was never coming home again, she found out that he didn't hate her for getting that angry with him. They were engaged again. Nobody had known that they were un-engaged while they were, because Emma hadn't left the house, but they had. All of that had to be so emotionally and physically exhausting for her, no wonder she was breaking down.

So, he did what any good fiance would do. He collected her up in his arms and held her there on the couch for a few minutes, pressing soft, warm kisses onto her skin. On her arm, on her hands, and all over her face. He just held onto her tightly, remaining in one place, before he stood up. One of her arms reached up around his neck and the other rested on his shoulder as he carried her upstairs, letting her bury his face into her chest. They reached their bedroom, and he opened the door slowly, taking her inside and laying her down gently on the bed. She was already changed, which was good.

The real problem was that he wasn't. He kissed her repeatedly on the forehead before he went to the dresser, going to grab pajamas, going into the bathroom and changing in under a minute, and praying that Emma wasn't crying. He never even told her where he was going, she must be worried sick, even if she saw him going into the bathroom. He walked towards her and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the wall. "Em? I'm right here." He whispered, walking over to the bed and sitting behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She closed her eyes lightly when he kissed her temple, right beside her ear.

She smiled lightly and let him keep holding onto her, resting his head down on her shoulder; after all, she was the one that needed it, not him. He kissed everywhere that he could without moving her sleeve or her hair before she started giggling. She was still crying, which was the funny thing. If anyone were to walk in, they would think she was just crying happy tears, which was partially the truth. She just got the first person who ever loved her back after a full day without them right there after months of him being at her side 24/7. He smiled about the fact that he got a reaction out of her before pulling her onto his lap, her legs on one side of him while she was practically on top of him. Her arms swung around his neck, keeping her with him as he laid down on the bed.

This was what she missed while he was gone. She missed him being right there while she spent the day crying and eating ice cream, knowing that something like this would be happening earlier if he was there. "I love you, Em," he mumbled, kissing her temple again and letting her just lay in his arms. It was great, knowing that she was right there, even if her elbow was digging into his ribs. Just feeling that she was right there, that he didn't even have to reach over to touch her because she was already there, was enough to help him fall into a deep sleep that night.

 _Emma woke up slowly, lying on the couch. She hadn't fallen asleep on the couch, she had fallen asleep in her bed right beside Neal. Had he brought her downstairs? That would be awfully weird for him to do unless he wanted her to be away from him, but last night, that had been the last thing he wanted, it seemed. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he brought her down here and then left. She thought about that for a minute, the things that she knew that Neal would do if he had in fact left her. She got up and started looking for a note._

 _Every single piece of paper got her excited, wondering if it could be that note from him just telling her that he was at Granny's or had to go to Regina's to get Henry or something. She searched the whole house, looking in the least and most obvious places, knowing they were sometimes the same thing. She took out her phone and texted him, but noticed something weird. The last text was three months ago. That was around the time that he…_

 _That was it. That was why she had fallen asleep on the couch. Neal wasn't here. Neal was never here. Neal had no idea that she had a new house, Neal had no idea about any of this. Neal just knew that she made a promise to him when he died that she would be happy, and she broke that promise like that vase earlier. Neal was never her fiance, not really. Maybe in their little thefts in Portland, but not here. Not really. He was just the father of her son, that was now buried and rotting in a hole in the ground where he would be spending no time holding her before they fell asleep or watching TV until it felt unhealthy. He wouldn't be doing any more boyfriend-y things with her because he was dead and gone._

 _And just like Gold always says, gone is gone._

She woke up to everything shaking. She didn't know who or what was setting off the massive earthquake, but she was thankful. "Emma! Wake up!" Someone yelled. She knew it wasn't him, but the voice was so familiar. It could be him if he wasn't dead. She jumped up, letting herself take a deep breath before opening her eyes. She saw him and threw her arms around his neck, breathing deeply as she remembered what he smelled like and how everything was and how he was okay. "It's okay. It was just a dream," he whispered as she started crying. Her whole body ached with the desire to just crawl under his skin and build herself a warm little place where nothing else like that would ever enter her mind.

He sat up, pulling her onto his lap. She thankfully moved over, leaning against his shoulder. He took her hand in his, holding onto it as he kissed her forehead. She curled up against him, burying her face in his shirt. "Look at me, Em," he whispered, moving over so she would be able to pick her head up without knocking him in the jaw. "What was it about? You don't normally get this upset," he whispered, brushing the hair from her face.

That was how she knew that he was so worried about her. He never really did that unless he was worried that she wasn't okay. Her hair was sticking to her face because of the sweat that was pouring down her whole body. "You were dead. That's why you didn't come home. You were gone," she choked on a sob, breaking down completely again. He sighed, kissing her forehead. There were a lot of times like this where she wasn't really happy after waking up, but it was never as bad as this.

This- This was why he came home earlier. To be there for her when she needed him, because he knew that there would be times that she would have nightmares and he wanted to be there for her. "Ohh, Emmy. It's okay. I'm right here," he whispered, squeezing her tightly, but making sure that he didn't hurt her. There were times that he wanted to just hold onto her as tightly as possible, but he knew that the tightest he could would hurt her, and he hated hurting her in any way.

After about twenty minutes, she had calmed herself down and Neal laid back down the same way as last time. "I love you," she mumbled. It helped him so much to hear her say that, tell him that she love him again. That wasn't something either of them said very often in fear that it would lose its meaning if said too much. He didn't really know what to say, he froze up. She laid for a moment in sheer panic, "Never mind. Forget about it," she whispered, making him feel bad for not responding at all. He didn't mean to not replying to her, he just didn't know what she would say if he said he loved her, too.

He froze up once again, but in the physical way. His whole body tensed up and he found himself holding onto her tighter, almost restraining her. "No, wait. I love you, too," he whispered, stopping her as she started to try to squirm away from him so she could get up and leave. "I'm sorry," she smiled softly and moved back into his arms willingly, moving his arm so that it was around her as a sign that he could hold onto her and that was okay. That she wanted him to let her know that he loved her.

She smiled up at him before closing her eyes and cuddling into his side, letting him tighten his arms around her without moving away from him. This was her fiance and her best friend. This was what she imagined one day having with somebody when she was little. "You're amazing, Emma," Neal whispered, kissing the top of her forehead as she fell asleep for the last time that night.


	4. Between Life and Death

Emma couldn't believe her parents did that. Not at all. They hadn't even buried Neal yet and he was already being replaced. Just like her. They didn't ask anyone if it was okay to use his name, but they did it anyway. It was like they didn't care. "I'm going for a drive," Nobody even tried to follow her or ask where she was going, or when she would be back.

The door slammed behind her, and she knew everyone was staring at the door before the noise resumed inside the restaurant. She drove for what felt like hours. How could they just do that? Especially without asking Gold for permission. He would either be thanking them or joining her in cursing them out later.

Her head was spinning, and she knew right then that not having anything to eat for the past two days was a bad idea. She just wanted to know what Henry felt about this, about his uncle stealing his father's name. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. All she wanted was to hit something really, really hard right now. That might help her avoid hitting her parents.

She closed her eyes tightly for just a second. A quick second and she was going to open them within the next ten seconds, but she didn't get the chance to. The car hit the tree so quickly that she never even felt the impact.

She woke up in the hospital a few minutes later, wondering what happened. Whale was talking to her parents, and she just wanted to know what was going on. She didn't feel anything at all besides sadness, and nobody would answer her when she started trying to get their attention. "Why are you ignoring me?! I didn't do anything to you!" She shrieked at them, standing in the corner of the room where she showed up.

An arm went around her suddenly, and she tensed up, jerking away from the hand. "It's okay, it's just me," A scratchy, familiar voice whispered. She turned quickly, seeing Neal right there behind her. She smiled for a second before throwing her arms around his neck. He almost got knocked over from the impact. "What are you doing here? I thought you we-" She stopped mid sentence as she realized what happened. She let her anger get the best of her, and because of that, she was now dead. She left Henry alone.

He noticed what was running through her mind by her expression alone. His eyes widened, putting his hands on her shoulders. "No, you're not dead. This is an in between world, sort of. You're in a coma," He told her, taking her hand and leading her to the door down the hallway. "I am, too," He told her, going into the morgue of the hospital, where they were storing his 'dead' body until they had enough time and staff that Whale could get away to do the autopsy.

She watched his chest moving up and down, knowing that there was something weird happening. She felt funny. Really funny. "Does time move different here? Like a lot faster?" He nodded, sitting her down on a bench and helping her to take slow, deep breaths. She was starting to see black dots everywhere. She was dying, wasn't she?

He kept one hand on her back and took hers with his other one, letting her hold onto him as she calmed down. "Panic attacks still exist, too," He told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How long have I been 'dead'?" He asked, letting her continue to hold his hand. She shrugged, holding up two fingers. She was afraid she'd throw up if she said anything. He nodded, pulling her into his arms.

She heard a noise that sounded a lot like her old high school's P.A system, and she jerked out of his arms, looking back at him. "What was that?" She asked, pointing at the ceiling of the hospital. She was terrified, it was like the devil was speaking to her or something. She was praying for her life right now.

He chuckled at the expression on her face, shrugging. "It's probably someone talking to you. That's why I didn't hear it, cause I'm not in the exact same location as you. Not in reality, at least," He told her softly, pulling her back into his arms after she had suddenly removed herself from them moments ago.

She wasn't there for long, though. Something happened and she disappeared, slowly and then all at once. What happened, he didn't know, but she was there and gone in seconds. She was either dead or awake now. In her world, she was dizzy. There were people all around her, her parents and Henry, Regina and Robin. Everyone that she thought cared about her even just a little bit. "Mom, are you okay?" Henry asked her, but all she could do was nod.

She felt exhausted. She just wanted to go home now, and she was getting restless as she realized where she was. She tugged on the sheets, wanting to get up, but David held them down. "No, sweetheart. Stay still, you broke your ribs," He whispered, sitting on the side of the bed and brushing her hair from her eyes. She let out a soft whimper as she realized how right he was. There was definitely something wrong with her, and she was almost certain that it was in fact her ribs.

Henry reached over to pull up the blankets for her when he noticed that she was shivering and there were goosebumps on her arms. She let out a cry as the blanket touched the sensitive area. "Neal," she whimpered, making everyone around her look at her in pity.

Whale waltzed in a few seconds later to draw her blood, and she saw her chance right then. "Neal's alive," she told him, hoarsely. "He was in that place that I went to when I was asleep. He needs someone to get him out of the morgue," she told him, letting her whole family look at her like she was crazy.

Whale nodded, letting her go downstairs to see in order not to make her too restless and hurt herself more than she already had. David smiled at her when she looked at him hopelessly, reaching over and picking her up gently to take her downstairs to Neal. They reached the door that Whale opened with his ID card, not expecting anything to happen. David sat her down on the cold, metal table and let her stare at the man she loved oh so much.

She smiled, brushing his hair from his eyes before leaning forwards to kiss him lightly on the lips, but nothing happened. She honestly thought it would work, but she had broken her rule. Don't ever expect the best. She really had, though. Maybe it was just the way that he was looking at her in there, but something in her mind had told her that this was who she wanted to spend her life with. She just hadn't thought about what she wanted.

Her whole body ached, and she couldn't tell if it was the medicine wearing off or if it was the deep, deep sadness she was feeling. The disappointment. The embarrassment. Refusing to let herself look any stupider, she reached over and kissed him once more, this time harder and with much more desperation. Yet again, nothing happened. She sighed sadly, looking to her father, who looked at her pitifully. Her hand reached out to touch his face once more, with plans to have David take her back upstairs.

She stared at him, the way that he was obviously breathing, his heart beating underneath her other hand. She could not believe this was how her life was going. She could remember her thirteen year old self thinking that she would never depend on a man to make her happy. Now, she had to look at herself, where her life went. She felt his heart beating under her hand, and she came to a realization. She was stupid in love with this man. She wished she could tell him that and have him say it back, but all he would do is hear it.

He would never tell her that again, whether someone woke him up or not. She looked up at David after a second and he walked over, putting a hand on her back and nodded at her questioningly, wondering if she wanted to leave. "Give me a sec?" She asked, and they both left to stand outside the room. She broke down then and there. She didn't know why he didn't love her, why everyone didn't love her. She had changed in every way possible to try to get at least someone to, and still nobody did.

Maybe she just needed to be dead. Maybe that was when people would start loving her, when she was no longer there to experience what that felt like. To hear someone say, 'I love you,' and to believe them. She heard a knock on the door and knew that meant she needed to hurry up. She turned to see her dad through the window and nodded after wiping her tears. He walked towards the table and put his hand on her back on more time. She leaned forwards one last time and kissed his forehead. He might not hear it or feel it, but that was a start.

She moved her head to the side so that he mouth was beside his ear. "You better not break my heart again, because I am stupid in love with you, Cassidy," She whispered, before her dad came and took her hand. Something grabbed onto her other one, though, pulling her back to the table.

There he was, lying there and staring at her with his warm brown eyes. "Never, Em," He whispered, sitting up. She threw herself at him, just like in that other world. Whale smiled at the scene, looking at the two and then over to David, who looked genuinely happy that his little girl found someone that loved her as much as she loved them. "Oh, and Em? It's fine that your parents are going name crazy," he told her, making her giggle a little bit.

Neal took her hand as he stood up, ready to help her stand up. She opened her mouth, ready to say something before David cut in. "She, um, broke like three of her ribs, so…" Neal looked at him as he spoke before looking back to her, who looked about ready to pass out on the table. David smiled at him as he let go of her hand, a silent version of, 'you better not walk out right now.'

Neal looked in between the two. "Oh, uh, okay," he leaned forwards and picked her up, one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back. She smiled at him and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked up the staircase. They got back to her room and he laid her down on the bed. "When can you leave?" He asked her, rubbing the smooth skin on the back of her hand with his thumb.

She opened her mouth to reply as Whale walked in with the clipboard for the second time, looking at the crowd of people in the small room. "Right now," he told them, handing Neal a clipboard with lots of medical terms and a space for him to sign.

Her parents looked over at Whale, wondering why they weren't the ones with the clipboard. "He has to sign it because he's still legally her emergency contact, and unless that changes, he will always get to sign it," the doctor told her parents before turning to Neal and Emma. "That just says that she does in fact have multiple fractures on the ribs, but nothing else besides a small concussion," Whale looked at Emma to make sure she was understanding.

She nodded once, letting him know to continue talking. She might not understand completely, but Neal could explain later. "You need to take six weeks off of work, no Saviour-ing for at least two weeks after that," he told Emma, making her sigh and look at the ceiling like the over-dramatic teenager Neal made her feel like she still was. "I know, but you won't get better if you do. Just take it easy for a while, don't do anything that hurts you, even if that's walking. If it still hurts to walk in three weeks, come in and we'll do some more x-rays and set you up for physical therapy," Emma's eyes got wide at the thought of physical therapy. Neal took her hand and squeezed it, signing the paper while Whale talked.

Neal handed the clipboard back to Whale and he left to file it into the computers while everyone got ready to leave. She attempted to get up, but when it hurt to just put her feet down, she knew that was not going to happen. "Here," Neal mumbled, handing her her clothes before he picked her up so that she could go change in the bathroom. She knew that Neal told her parents exactly what to bring for her to wear, because it was one of his really soft t-shirts and a pair of leggings.

Neal opened the door after she was done, walking over to get the hospital gown before he walked outside the door for a split second to put it in the basket for dirty stuff. He came back in seconds, picking her up to take her to the car. "Wha- wrong way, Neal," she told him as he walked to the passenger side of the car to sit her down.

He stopped, looking at her for a second. He chuckled sarcastically, looking into her eyes. "You're not driving. You're sitting down and I'm taking you home, because it's almost two o'clock in the morning and freezing and you're in pain," She looked into his eyes to think of a negotiation that he might be okay with.

She smiled as she thought of one that they would both like very much, so it was a win-win situation. "Only if you stay with me tonight," she told him, looking into his eyes and smiling. He nodded, smiling at her and sitting her down in the car. She smiled, but soon realized that it wouldn't be easy for him to hold onto her, but brushed it off with the hope that he would want to stay with her anyway.

That was what kept her awake for the next ten minutes. The idea that he would want to stay with her anyway, which he did. He did stay with her anyway.


	5. It's Not Real

Emma wakes up bathed in sweat, her whole body trembling as the images of the nightmare she just had, and everything that happened during the day come flashing through her mind. David got cut by a sword; nothing too big, it just needed a few stitches and then he was good. Still, Emma worried. Emma worried so much that she fell asleep basically sobbing in Neal's arms on the couch.

Now she was in her room. She assumed that he carried her up there, seeing as David was in no shape to be carrying any _thing,_ let alone any _one,_ and Snow wasn't exactly strong enough to carry anyone over the age of seven.

Emma looked over to see Neal lying down beside her. She guessed that he probably didn't wanna leave her alone after her reaction to what happened, and she didn't wanna leave him alone right now either, but she needed to see her dad. She debated for a second; she knew that David needed his rest. It was late, already past one o'clock, but she still felt a strong need to be with her dad.

So, forcing herself not to worry about bugging him anymore, she threw over the corner of the sheets and walked as quietly as possible down the staircase. She saw that Snow was now standing in the kitchen, the baby in her arms as she fed him from a bottle. She hummed a lullaby but stopped the second she saw Emma. "Oh, hey! What're you doing up?" she asked, making Emma wince.

She was meaning to just sneak into the bedroom, but apparently, after being chased by an Evil Queen for half your life, your senses grow to be completely sharpened. "I had a bad dream. I wanted to go see da-David," she says, and Snow nods, giving her the go ahead. Emma used her hand to push away the curtain that separated her parents' room from the living room, checking to make sure her father was still awake.

The sight of him laying there in bed, a book in hand and him obviously still awake, and by the looks of it, completely _fine_ brought tears to her eyes. She pushed back the curtain enough for her body to slip through, and she just stood, tears streaming down her cheeks, right in front of the curtain, waiting for him to finally notice her.

When he did, he closed his book, not bothering to even save the page, and sat up straight. "Emma? What happened?" he asks, opening his good, left arm up for his daughter, motioning for her to come over to him.

She walked over slowly, feeling more and more like the little girl that used to cry herself back to sleep at two in the morning because she had a nightmare, and she really just wanted her daddy to protect her from the monsters; like the girl that used to be too scared to go see her foster parents after a bad dream, even though they seemed nice, because some of them would get mad, even though these ones didn't look like they would.

She crawled up to him from the foot of the bed, not bothering to go around to the side of the bed and get in properly. He just held her there for a few minutes, because every few seconds she would let out a sob, and he couldn't tell if it was out of fear or sadness, but either way, he didn't want her to think that he would abandon her even just for a second.

After those few minutes passed, she let go, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "What happened, sweetie?" he asked, taking this opportunity to use the pet names that he never got to when she was a little girl. He brushed her hair back to behind her ear. His arm was still in a sling, but he straightened it out as best he could in order to give her another hug, this one actually _real._

She let a short stream of sobs overwhelm her whole body, making her shake against him. Once she was done, she wiped her tears away once again. "It was just a bad dream, but it seemed real, and I just needed you instead of Neal or Henry this time," she whispered, avoiding eye contact because whether she liked it or not, she was completely and totally _embarrassed._

He nodded in understanding, pulling her back to his chest, holding her still with his good arm, not wanting to let go of her. She once again just broke down sobbing, the images from the nightmare when she watched her dad _die_ in front of her, and then the memories from earlier in the day making her flip out a little bit too much, and she actually _was_ scared now that he was going to abandon her again.

She found herself gripping his forearm with such a force that made him want to cry out in pain, but he didn't want her to be scared. The sobs were completely hysterical, her whole body wracking with them, no breaks in between them. She was almost silent, except for the gasping breaths she took every few seconds. "Daddy," she cried, her whole body shaking with tears.

Neal appeared in the room at that moment, not to take her away, but ready to do so if someone asked him to. He walked over to the bed and sat down beside Emma, putting his hand down on her back and rubbing it in slow circles. At that moment, there were almost no walls. A broken, cracked, completely unstable curb at most, but nothing that couldn't be chipped down within a few minutes.

After a few minutes, Neal and David were able to both calm her down, and Neal left the room to go and give Snow a break with the baby, and to also give Emma and her father a few minutes alone. "Daddy," she whispered, tugging on his shirt. He pulled her up closer to him, kissing her forehead. She shuffled around a little bit, getting comfortable in her father's arms before relaxing.

He looked down at his daughter, watching her get comfortable in his arms like she should've been able to do so many times when she was little. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked, brushing her hair with his fingers gently. He didn't wanna make her uncomfortable, or worse, make her start crying again, but he didn't want her to feel like she can't talk about it, either.

She shook her head a little bit, but he still watched as her mouth opened, ready to say something. "You died, that's all. I don't wanna talk about it anymore," she whispered, and he nodded, holding her close. Even though he only had one good arm, she still felt so _safe,_ right there with him.

He craned his neck forwards, kissing her on the top of the head, letting her close her eyes. "I love you, my princess," he whispered, and she smiled, tears forming in her eyes. He might not have noticed it, but that was, in fact, the first time he told his daughter that he loved her since she got back from New York.

She kept her eyes closed, letting out a contented sigh before replying. "I love you, too, Daddy," she whispered, wrapping her arm around his torso just a little bit tighter and relaxing into his arms. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and became steady, showing that she was asleep.

He kissed her forehead once more, before reaching over and shutting off the lamp. The whole room got dark, and David closed his eyes, his breathing doing the same thing that his daughter's had done, and he had fallen asleep as well, his daughter wrapped up tightly in his embrace.

 **So, I wrote this really late last night, and I don't really know how it turned out... hope you like it anyway.**


	6. Great For You

Neal closes the door behind them, softly, watching with a smile as Emma goes and chucks her bag onto the bed, flopping down beside it. "So, you wanna tell me why you actually _paid_ for a hotel room this time?" she asks, looking up at him as he makes sure that the door is locked.

He turns around to look at her, shrugging his leather jacket off and throwing it carelessly onto the other bed in the room, the one that he was certain that they wouldn't be using for anything but storage. "It's your birthday, I wanted it to be different than every other day; I want you to actually _enjoy_ it," he tells her, walking over to the bed that she's on and moving her bag, putting it on the chair at the desk and laying down beside her.

She smiles, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before going and resting her head on his chest, closing her eyes as his arm went around her and his hand rested on her side, stroking it lightly. "Thank you," she whispered and she could feel him nod once before reaching down to kiss the top of her head.

This place, unlike those, is rather clean. Neal chooses to ignore the little things that he notices about the room, knowing that they are all just little details, they don't really matter. Hopefully, Emma won't care about those, but he can't help but worry a little bit. He wishes it was nicer, but that was sadly something he couldn't afford and it would defeat the purpose of this; to give her one day that they could just be together and not have to worry about how quickly they needed to leave the room.

She sits up after a few seconds, which snaps Neal out of his thoughts as she went to go and explore the hotel room. He watches as she disappears into the bathroom, wondering what she's gonna find in there this time. She's kinda the queen of finding disturbing things in bathrooms at hotel rooms, including things like used bandages (not band-aids, but like, 'here you go, for that bullet wound in your side' bandages), cockroaches, dead mice…. Other creepy things...

When Neal hears the door creak open, his eyes widen as he waits for some sarcastic remark or a scream or something, but he gets none of those. "Oh my God," he hears, prompting him to stand and follow her into the bathroom, only to find not some form of disturbing crime evidence, but instead his amazingly adorable girlfriend standing at the counter and smelling the travel sized lotion that most hotels provide.

He just chuckles, beginning to leave the room before she sees him, but gets called back in before he can even make it out of the short hallway. "Wait, Neal, get back in here," she calls after him. He sighs, turning around and walking back into the bathroom, standing right beside Emma. "Smell this," she says holding out the small bottle for him to take. He takes it, bringing it up to his face and sniffing it.

His eyes widen as he begins to understand why she's so captivated by it. Coconut. He hates the food, refuses to touch it- he thinks it's too sweet. he has to admit that it does smell like a little bit of heaven. He's not gonna let her know that, though, so he just hands it back to her and rolls his eyes before leaving the cramped up room once again. "Grouch," he hears her mumble as she follows him from the room.

He looks up at her from the bed, where he has already taken a seat and started looking at the little paper with things to do. "There's a pool downstairs," he mentions, catching her attention and making her turn around to go and look at the paper with him. "Wanna go?" he asks, seeing the overly excited- almost childish- expression on her face.

She looks up at him and takes the menu thingy from him before wrapping her arms around him from the side. "Please?" she begs. Part of him questions why she still thinks that she has to do that to make him give in. He nods, looking down at her. She smiles brightly, hugging him tighter before releasing him. She walks over to her bag that he had put on the chair, taking her swimsuit out.

She disappears into the bathroom, giving him time to make sure that what he needed was still in his bag, hidden away in the pocket that he keeps his notebooks in. He smiles as he finds the black box, tucking it back away in his bag's pocket and closing it as he hears the bathroom door unlock.

He takes out his own swimsuit, closing his bag and sitting on the bed as he pretends that he was waiting for her to finish in there the whole time. She gives him a kiss on the cheek as he gets up, going to the bathroom as well.

He's shaking the whole time he's in there, hoping that Emma really, really knows well enough not to go through his bag, or this whole thing would be over in a split second. When he opens the door, he half expects to find her sitting on the other bed, staring at what she wasn't supposed to find in the stupid bag.

Instead, she's standing next to the bed, smiling and practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Ready to go?" he asks, walking over to her and giving her a short hug. She nods vigorously, her eyes lighting up. He chuckles, grabbing the keycard off of the nightstand and taking her hand as they left the room.

Neal opens the door for her, just like always and they go to put their towels down on a table. "I'm just glad it's not an indoor pool, those are always too hot and humid," she tells him, walking over to the side of the pool. He walks up beside her, half tempted to push her in and jump in after her, but he knows that she doesn't completely like that, and he doesn't wanna upset her.

This time, she's the one to push him in- or try to. Of course, she's not exactly strong enough to push him in with a force, but he goes along with it, just to make her laugh. She follows him into the pool, shuddering as she realizes just how cold it is. When they both reach the surface, he pulls her into his arms in an attempt to make her warmer but fails miserably as she only seems to get colder after a few minutes.

She doesn't exactly look like she's enjoying this, either. When she starts shaking and her lips start to turn blue, he decides that it's best to get out and get her warmer. "Just wait here a sec," he tells her, getting out of the pool and grabbing her towel, bringing it over to her and wrapping her up in it. He knows that she was already cold in the water, but with a breeze coupled with it, she would be absolutely freezing.

After she's all wrapped up, he takes his towel and dries off, throwing it over his shoulder after he's done instead of tying it around his waist. He wraps an arm around Emma, trying to warm her up a little bit more as they walk up the staircase and back to their hotel room. "Here," he whispers, leading her into the bathroom and turning on the warm water. He takes her towel, hanging it up back on the rack.

After the water is warmed up to a temperature that would actually make a difference, he brings her in with him, wrapping his arms around her, both of them still in their swimsuits. After a few minutes, her teeth finally stop chattering and he reaches out of the tub, grabbing her shampoo and conditioner off of the counter and starting to do it for her, letting her just stand and warm up.

Once he thinks he's done a somewhat efficient job, he turns the water off and wraps her up in a towel once again. She smiles at him, leaning into his arms with her head against his shoulder for a moment, before leaning back and kissing him on the cheek before getting out of the shower. He leaves the room, getting dressed in the main part of the room and letting her do so in the bathroom. She comes out after a second, grabbing a brush, but this time he follows her into the bathroom.

She brushes out her hair, leaving it down and leaving the bathroom. "Oh, I have a surprise for you," he tells her, going to his bag and taking something out that she can't see. "So, dinner plans. I know that it's not much, but I thought maybe we could go downstairs to eat. I also have something to give you when we come back up unless you want me to do it there," he tells her, but she shakes her head, smiling at him and going to kiss him again.

He takes her hand and walks downstairs holding it, hoping that it's not shaking as much as he thinks it is. They take a table by the door and the waiter walks over to them, taking their orders. They don't talk much during dinner, causing Emma to get just a little bit worried. Normally, Neal was the one starting every conversation and making jokes, but he didn't say a word unless she said something first.

They finished dinner quickly. Emma looks out the window of the hotel dining place, and she sees the waves crashing on the beach. "Can we go out there? It looks nice, I'll bring a sweater," she says and Neal nods, smiling at her. He has a new idea of how he's going to give her the thing that he wants to give to her.

They go upstairs, both of them getting what they have to from the room. Neal takes the box out of the pocket of his bag while Emma's in the bathroom. "Let's go," she says, going back over to him. He picks up his other jacket, the black one this time, knowing that Emma did, in fact, forget to bring a sweater and this one was warmer than the leather one.

He wraps his arms around her shoulders as they walk, Emma's whole body beginning to shake as she realizes what she forgot in the room. "The whole reason we went up there was for the stupid sweater," she mumbles as Neal puts his coat on her and goes back to her side, wrapping his arm back around her as she leans her head against his shoulder.

Once they're a good distance away from the hotel, Neal looks over at Emma, catching her attention by tapping her shoulder and stopping. "We gotta talk," he says and she just looks at him, her eyes wide and her mouth opened.

"Okay," she says, looking him in the eye. "Is something wrong?" she asks, but he just shakes his head, looking over at her.

He doesn't even know what to say, or what to do. Is he supposed to give some speech or something? Is he supposed to take Nike's advice and just do it? He doesn't know, but it surely wasn't to stand here like a blabbering idiot. "I-uh, wasn't planning on doing this until later, but I couldn't help it and I thought it might make today a little bit better because if we're being totally honest, it hasn't been as great for you as I hoped it would be. So, I'm just gonna, uh, yeah, do that," he says with a small grunt as he kneels down in front of her.

He starts smiling as he realizes that he's actually doing this. Her hands go to cover her mouth, knocking her glasses in the process. "Emma Swan, will you marry me?" he asks her. She opens her mouth, tears starting to spill from her eyes.

She nods, afraid that all that will come out if she says anything is just a loud sob and that wouldn't be exactly pleasant. He stands up, putting the ring on her finger and pulling her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. "You okay?" he asks and she nods, even though there are tears streaming down her face and her breathing isn't steady by any means. "You wanna go back?" he asks, but she shakes her head, closing her eyes and leaning against him for a moment before they started walking again.

After a while, the crying stops and Neal notices that she's literally falling asleep on his shoulder, so he takes her back to the hotel and lays down beside her. She curls up into his side, smiling lightly as he reaches down to kiss her cheek. He touches her hand, beginning to take the ring off to put on the nightstand, but she shakes her head, resting her hand on his chest and falling asleep just like that.

And to think that she really thought he was breaking up with her on the beach.


	7. With a Family

**This one was requested by oncer4life11. I hope this came out the way you wanted it! Enjoy!**

Neal goes over to Emma's apartment, knocking on the door and waiting for her to open it. He's taking Henry for the weekend so that they can practice sword-fighting and so that the kid can _finally_ get a good night's sleep after being stuck in an apartment with a crying baby for the past few days.

The door opens quickly and Emma's standing there, holding said screaming baby in her arms and trying to calm him down. "Hey, he's packing right now, he'll be a while. He forgot to do it earlier," she explains, letting Neal in and closing the door, all while holding the squirming, wailing baby.

He nods, watching as she walks back into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle out of the microwave, attempting to check the temperature of it while trying not to drop her little brother. "Do you want me to take him for a sec?" Neal asks, noticing that she's struggling to accomplish anything.

She had put the bottle down, frustratedly, before picking it up and trying to do the thing again. When he asked that, she put it back down and looked up at him. "Please?" she asks, staring up at him with complete desperation in her eyes. She sighs in relief as he nods, walking over and taking the little boy in his arms, holding him tightly and rubbing his back gently in an attempt to soothe him while Emma checks the temperature of the bottle- successfully, this time.

She looks up at him as the boy slowly stops screaming, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open in shock. "How did you do that?" she asks, staring at him as he continues to rub the child's back. He's shocked as well, his eyes wide and he mumbles something she can't quite understand. "Well, I'm not gonna take chances. Here," she says, handing him the bottle.

He holds it for a second before looking up at her with terror in his eyes. "How- how do I-?" he tries to ask, but she's on it before he can even finish his question. She takes the baby from him, then handing him back and showing him how to hold him the right way. After that, Neal takes him back and holds him for a little while, the two of them just talking about stuff while Henry's packing. "So, I'm holding him, can't I know his name?" he asks, but Emma just shakes her head, eyes going to the little boy.

She lets out a breathy chuckle before responding. "I've been watching him all day and all I can call him is 'hey there.' Trust me, I wanna know as much as you," she says, making him laugh a little bit before looking over at the baby. The boy had let go of the bottle and had since started to push it away, looking up at Neal with the same eyes as his big sister.

Neal takes the bottle away, handing it over to Emma, who puts it in the sink to be later washed by her mother. Emma takes the boy back, a washcloth on her shoulder in preparation for what she had learned was to come next. "Henry, are you almost done up there? Your dad's been waiting for like, a half hour!" Emma calls up to him from the kitchen and on cue, Henry runs downstairs, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

He runs over to Neal, crashing into him with a hug. "Hey, buddy. You ready to go?" he asks, and Henry nods, but Emma stops him. She points over to the counter, right at his storybook that she was sure she would be getting a phone call to bring later if he forgets it. "Oh, yeah, don't forget that bud," he says as Henry runs over to it, setting his backpack on a barstool and shoving the book into it.

Henry runs over to Emma, giving her the best hug he can while she's holding a baby and then runs off with Neal, who gives her a kiss on the cheek and tells her that he'll call her after they get back from the lake (Henry wants to feed the ducks.) and then goes to follow his son.

Just as Neal leaves, Emma remembers the reason she has a rag on her shoulder and chuckles softly, closing her eyes. "You like your uncle more than me, don't ya, kid?" she asks, going to put him down on the rug she has laid out for him to play on the floor so she can wash the spit up off of the cloth.

Meanwhile, Henry and Neal walk down the street in almost silence, neither of them having much to say. "So, did you meet the baby?" Henry asks and Neal nods, looking over at him. "He's pretty cool. He annoys Mom sometimes when she's trying to feed him or something. When Grandma and Gramps aren't home, you can hear her say bad words from upstairs. It's really funny," he says, causing Neal to laugh and wrap his arm around Henry's shoulders.

Neal nods, laughing a little bit before getting a bit more serious. "Hey, speaking of your mom, her birthday's on Monday. I know I told you we'd go to the lake, and I promise, promise, promise we will, but is it okay with you if we stop by a few stores real quick? I have an idea for a present for her," he asks. Henry nods but doesn't seem _too_ thrilled with the situation.

Neal looks down at him, putting his hand on his back and stopping him. "Hey. I promise we'll do something more fun, but I think this could be fun, too. And I promise that if you don't think so once it's done, we won't do it again when you come over. I'll pull you out of school or something next time so it doesn't get in the way. 'Kay?" he asks, but Henry shakes his head and going over to the window of the bread store.

He looks down at the ground, just like Emma sometimes does when she's talking. "No, it's okay. I wanna get something for Mom, just… you _promise_ we'll do something besides shopping later?" Henry asks and Neal laughs, nodding and closing his eyes. Henry nods, looking over at his dad before wrapping his arms around him. "'Cause I haven't really done anything fun in a while," he says. Neal nods, starting to walk again. They cross the street when they get to Granny's, going to Mr. Gold's shop.

The door's bell rings when they walk inside, letting Neal's father know that there are people in the shop. "Oh, hello, Bae! What can I do for you?" he asks, noticing that Henry's wearing his backpack, which means that they probably are either on the way to Emma's house or on the way from Emma's house.

Neal walks over to the counter, watching as Henry gets a little distracted and goes to look at the instruments hanging on the wall. "It's Emma's birthday on Monday. We're putting together a gift, but we need something here first. Do you happen to have a piece of metal, just a little bigger than a quarter? Oh, and a jar?" he asks. Gold nods and puts a finger up, disappearing behind the curtain.

He comes back out a minute later with the jar, piece of metal, and a green bow. "I have a feeling that the jar is for a present. You can't wrap it very well without one of these," he says, picking up the bow and gesturing towards it.

Neal nods, taking out his wallet to pay his father. "Bae, you don't have to do that. My only price for is, that you make sure that Ms. Swan has a wonderful day," he says, looking at him and leaning over the counter to whisper something into Neal's ear. "It's her first one with her family there. She's not likely to forget this one," he says. Neal nods, taking the things off the counter.

Henry walks over, waiting for Neal to finish talking to Mr. Gold. "Alright. Thanks, Papa," he says. The man responds with a nod as Neal and Henry walk out of the shop. Once they get out, they go to the store, getting a bag to put the stuff in while they walk around and three bags of skittles. "Henry, if Emma's been in Storybrooke for almost three years, why is this her first birthday with her parents?" he asks. Henry looks up at Neal as Sneezy checks them out and they start the leave the store.

Henry looks up at him as they walk down the street, onto the next place they need to be. "Well, the first one was during the curse. The second one was while she was in the Enchanted Forest, so she probably didn't even _know._ The third one is this one," he says and Neal nods, feeling bad for Emma once again. He knows he should stop doing that because she doesn't like it, but he can't help it.

They get to their next destination, which just so happened to be the one that forced Neal and Emma apart in the first place. August. "Hey, you got it?" he asks. Neal nods, holding up the bag and taking out the little piece of metal. August nods, looking over at Henry. "C'mere, kid," he says, putting the piece of metal under a machine, somehow melting the top of it without too much heat.

He takes Henry's hand and presses the metal to his thumb, rolling it over it and leaving an impression on it. "What's that for?" Henry asks out of pure curiosity that reminds August of the little boy's father. August gives him a look and Henry rolls his eyes. "I'll see, right?" he asks, his voice sassy and kinda rude, but Neal can only laugh.

August nods, poking a hole through the top of the metal while it's still a little bit soft. He threads a chain through it. After a few minutes, the metal hardens again and August drops it into Henry's hand. "It's a necklace for your mom, kid. Take care of it for her before she gets it, 'kay?" August asks and Henry nods, looking him dead in the eyes. August nods back and looks over at Neal, sending Henry back to his father.

Neal nods at August in thanks as he follows Henry out the door. "Okay, kid. Let's stop at my place and drop off this stuff. Then, we can go to the lake, okay?" Henry nods and runs off, going into Neal's apartment building and opening the gate, running upstairs to his apartment and putting his stuff down before running out the door after Neal.

Monday came by quickly. Before Neal knew it, they were all at the loft, sitting around singing 'happy birthday' and eating cake. "Let's open presents!" Snow yells from the couch and everyone crowds around, watching Emma. _This_ is what Neal wanted for her, just to be loved and for her to _know_ it.

Everyone gave her something different. Ruby got her a new jacket because of the time that she learned to put a cloth on her shoulder after feeding the baby. Her parents got her a few different things; a bracelet, a new notebook, and a really sweet card that explained very nicely that they had no idea what to get her, so there was a twenty and she could knock herself out with it. Granny made her a new blanket. Regina gave her a phone case that said 'Keep calm, I'm the Savior' on it.

Emma seems to like all of it, but Neal and Henry were eyeing each other nervously when she picks up the bag that they both recognize from their day together. She takes out the jar first, which said 'Take a Chill Pill' on it, which was honestly Henry's idea from a few weeks before her birthday. She laughs after reading the label. "You said bad words in front of the baby?" Snow asks, making everyone laugh. "Never mind, I don't wanna know," she says. Emma nods and puts the jar down on the couch.

She takes out the little box that Neal put the necklace in and opens it. Tears start forming in her eyes, but she refuses to let them spill. She goes over to Neal and hugs him tightly. "Thank you," she whispers into his ear.

He leans back, looking her in the eye and smiling brightly. Clearly, he thought that she might not like it, or he wouldn't look so surprised, yet happy. "You like it?" he asks, a big smile on his face that takes her back to a certain day in the bug when he gave her the necklace that she was wearing right then.

"Yeah," she whispers, leaning forwards and kissing him. That was when the whole house erupted in applause and cheering and both of them have to pull away because they started laughing too hard. "I love you," she whispers, not loud enough for anyone to hear but Neal.

He looks her in the eye, smiling as brightly as she thinks is humanly possible and kisses her on the forehead. "I love you, too. Happy Birthday, Em."


	8. I Promise

He awakes to a sound across the hallway. He lets out a short groan, moving his arm and seeing all the marks from sleeping with it under his pillow. He rolls over lazily, dropping his head back onto the pillow, his arm under it and his legs crossed beneath the blankets.

The noise happens again. He sits up, waiting to see if he'll hear it again. He can't tell if it's coming with a rhythm or not, knowing that it could just be Emma's computer in her room or someone walking around in the kitchen downstairs.

After a few more seconds of listening to the shuffling around, he hears a voice cry out and he's out of bed, running down the hallway and not caring who else it wakes up. He opens the door to her room quickly, closing it behind him and hurrying over to her.

"Hey, hey," he says, putting his hands on her shoulders and keeping his eyes on hers as she stares up at him, her eyes wide as she tries to breathe the way that her mother taught her to, like Dr. Hopper taught _her_ to when she was suffering from the effects of the sleeping curse.

These nightmares aren't of the Netherworld, though. They're purely of her imagination, and the way that she describes them, more _terrifying_ than anything he's ever heard of. The reason why they both think they're so fearsome is beyond him. It may be because he understands her, or because he's been scared to lose her, too, but he knows that he definitely understands how scary they probably are.

Neal breathes with her until she's calmed down some, though her heart is still pounding at a furious pace. "Was it the same one as normal?" he asks, still looking her straight in the eye. She nods, reaching up for him, her arms shaking along with her whole body as he pulls her into a hug.

She lets out a cry, her arms going tighter around him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," he cooes, rubbing his hand up and down her back, his other hand cradling her head to help her stay up if she wants to. They stay like that for a good few minutes until Emma lets go of him, still crying, but wanting him to lay down with her on the bed.

Though she was the one who let go of him, the second he moves over so he can lay down, she lets out a sharp cry and reaches back up for him. He stops what he's doing the moment he hears her and turns back to her, reaching down and hugging her the same way again.

After his first attempt that went wrong when he was trying to move, he decides that it would just be best to not let go of her. He sits back just for a second, not completely letting go of her (he's still holding her hand,) and gets into a comfortable position against the pillows. He then pulls her into his arms and onto his lap, one of her hands going onto his chest and her other arm snaking around him, holding on for dear life as he lies back.

He takes her hand with the one that he previously had cradling her head, holding it tight and kissing the top of her head. "I promise it's gonna be okay," he whispers, tilting his head and craning his neck down so that he can see her face. She nods, reaching up and kissing his cheek.

 _Well, that's random,_ he thinks as he kisses the top of her head once again, relaxing against the pillows, providing Emma with a wonderful moving sensations that makes her grip the back of his shirt like a lifeline. He can't decide whether to wince in pain as it pulls on his neck, or to chuckle at the sudden response to such a small movement.

She squeezes his hand tightly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Stay with me?" she asks and he nods, hugging her a little bit tighter. "It'll make me feel better. Also in the morning. I like waking up and seeing you smiling," she whispers. He nods, kissing her temple and chuckling.

She falls asleep a few moments after that and Neal falls asleep soon after her, neither of them having any more nightmares or things to disrupt them from having a good night's sleep.

Emma starts to wake up, her eyes adjusting to the light from her room as she realizes that she's now lying beside Neal instead of pretty much on top of him.

She doesn't like the nightmares she gets on a nightly basis, but she doesn't know what to do to stop them and Neal comes to be with her whenever they happen, which help, considering the nightmares are about him. Actually, when he almost _died._ Part of her must still be terrified that he'll do something stupid and his body will try to sacrifice his soul again.

Emma turns her head to look at him, seeing that he's already awake and smiling just like she told him she liked the night before. She moves closer to him and gives him a short, sweet kiss on the lips. His arms go around her, one of them resting on her waist and the other underneath her neck. "Thanks for staying last night," she whispers, her forehead against his. He smiles at her, not wanting to say something and not be able to feel her soft breath every time she exhales against his lips.

After a second, he moves his forehead off of hers and detangles his arms from around her. He leans down and kisses her on the side of her head. "Waffles or Pancakes, princess?" he asks, using the nickname in a teasing manner in order to just piss her off a little bit. She hurls a pillow in his direction and he chuckles, looking back at her.

He walks back over to the bed, kissing her one more time and she smiles, once again happy and no longer frustrated. "Alright, alright," he whispers as she kisses him once again and grabs his arm, trying to pull him back to the bed. He gives her a hug before standing once again. "Seriously, though. Waffles or Pancakes?" he asks. "Not frozen waffles like you make either, but the real ones. There's a reason your parents own a waffle iron," he tells her. Her eyes light up and she nods, sitting up in bed.

"Wait a sec," she says, climbing out from under the blankets and turning him around at the foot of the bed by his shoulders before wrapping her arms and legs around him, his arms going under her knees to keep her up and carrying her out of the room on his back, downstairs to start making breakfast.


	9. Sweet Surprises

**This was requested by oncer4life11. I hope you like it!**

Emma reaches down, picking a little Henry up in her arms and carrying him over to the couch where she sets him down on his tummy. She puts her shoes on while watching him, ready to reach over and grab him if he decides to roll over and try to make his escape. "Hey," Neal whispers, coming up behind her and kissing her on the cheek before reaching over the back of the couch and rubbing Henry's back.

She smiles at him as she puts her other shoe on, watching as he goes into the kitchen to make some coffee. "Promise you'll remember to feed him?" she asks and Neal nods, trying not to laugh just a little tiny bit at her. Neal hasn't exactly been left alone with Henry yet and today he was gonna take him out while Emma was at work because Neal had the day off. "And call me if there's something wrong?" she asks, picking Henry up and carrying him over to Neal.

He nods, taking Henry from her, attempting to pour a coffee with the child in his arms, but after a few minutes, Emma just takes it from him and does it herself. "Thanks," he whispers, taking it and going to sit at the table, moving Henry so he's sitting on his lap. Emma watches as Neal gives Henry a cheerio and the baby tries to eat it, taking it and putting it in his mouth and making a face as he tries to decide what to do with it.

She chuckles, going over and kissing both of them on the cheek. "I love you. I gotta go. Take care of our kid," she says, turning around and walking away to go to work. Neal watches as Emma walks out of the small house, going and driving off in the car that Neal had insisted she got after they both had jobs and going back and forth was too much of a hassle.

He looks down at Henry, turning him around so he was facing Neal. "I guess it's just you and me today, buddy, isn't it? You wanna go get Mama a birthday present?" he asks and despite not having understood a word Neal had said, Henry still smiles and claps his hands together, cheering.

Neal smiles, taking his coffee and carrying Henry into the nursery so he could dress him. After Henry put up a fuss about getting into the outfit he was trying to put him in, Neal decided to just dress him one of the little onesies that Emma picked out, stick some socks on him, and leave it at that.

It took him a few minutes to remember that Emma always leaves next to the couch. He sets Henry down in it and buckles him up, carrying him out to the car and strapping the seat in. "There we go, buddy," he whispers, closing the door and starting the car. Henry's a particularly quiet baby- except for when they're in the car. That was when he could get a little bit upset. For some reason- probably because he's _their_ child- he doesn't calm down unless there's music playing.

Neal turns on the radio and sings along softly to the song as he drives down the streets and ends up at the Michael's near their house. "Okay, buddy, let's go get something for Mama," he whispers, unstrapping the seat and carrying it into the store. He finds a cart with a big basket that he can put the seat in.

The breeze that hits them as they walk into the store makes Henry giggle a little bit and Neal laughs, looking over at him. They walk up and down the aisles, looking for the one with the thing Neal needs. He wants to make Emma a picture frame with Henry's handprints on it and then says 'home', with a picture of the three of them in it, but he has to find one with a thick enough border for the paint first.

Then, he comes across one that's perfect. He picks it up and puts it in the cart, then goes to try and find the aisle with the paint in it. "Okay, buddy, come on," Neal whispers, taking Henry out of his car seat and holding him while they look at paint colors. "Which one do you think Mama would like?" he whispers as if he expects a response from the six-month-old. He walks over to the paints, not knowing exactly which color to pick. He knows that Emma likes blue, but they already have _so_ much blue in the house.

He picks up two of the small bottles, one red and one yellow. He looks at the two of them, weighing the pros and cons (there are only so many,) when Henry reaches over and takes the red one from him. "So, you think she'd like red, huh?" Henry cheers at him, trying to clap and dropping the little container of paint. A small cry escapes the lips, which probably means that he'll start screaming if Neal doesn't pick up the paint.

He reaches down and picks it up, handing it to Henry, before putting him down in his car seat once again, the paint in the seat of the cart so Henry can't stick it in his mouth. Then, Neal gets an idea. "Let's go get you a cart cover thingy," Neal says, remembering that Emma was talking about getting one a few days ago, so it was an _excellent_ out for that one.

So, they paid for everything and went off to Target to get a cart cover for Henry. "Your seat won't fit in there, will it, kiddo?" he whispers as he tries to get the car seat into the cart once again. "Okay, then. I guess I'm carrying you," he says, putting the car seat back in the car and going into the store.

It wasn't easy to push the cart with one hand to carry Henry, but he made it work. He just remembers Emma telling him that he couldn't put the car seat on the cart if it didn't fit inside, and he wasn't about to deal with the wrath of Emma Swan if anything happened to their son. They go to the baby section, looking around at the covers.

Henry reaches out with one arm, the other one on his father's shoulder. Neal walks forwards to where Henry's pointing and sees that it's an airplane one. "You're pretty smart, you know that? You want the airplanes?" Henry doesn't do anything, but Neal is pretty sure that he wanted the airplane one. Neal picks the package up and puts it in the cart, still trying to carry Henry with one arm.

Neal walks back over to the cash registers at the front of the store and puts the package on the belt thingy, going over to the cashier to pay for it. "Aww, he's a cutie. Is this for him?" she asks and Neal nods, taking his debit card out of his pocket and sliding it through the machine, pressing the button code and then going over to put the cover on the cart, letting Henry sit in the basket for just a minute.

The thing gets on it pretty easily and Neal's turning to go back and get some things they were running out of. He knows that they need more milk, the little blueberry puff things that Emma buys, strawberries, and a new little bucket thingy to put the water in when they give Henry baths.

He gets all of those things, paying for it and then leaving, driving home to make the picture frame. Neal has something else for her, but that's something just from him and this is something different. "Let's do this, kiddo," he whispers, taking Henry into the backyard, paint supplies and picture frame in hand. He had put down a blanket for Henry, not wanting him to get splinters from the deck on his hands or feet, because he didn't want his baby to get hurt, but also because Emma would murder him.

Henry laughs as Neal paints on his hand, making him smile as he tries to keep Henry still so he can finish it. He presses his hand onto the frame, which also makes Henry laugh, but every few seconds he lets out a sound that makes Neal think that he's in pain, which makes Neal flinch just a little bit, but then Henry just keeps laughing.

It only takes a few minutes for it to get done and Neal leaves the frame on the deck to dry for a little bit. He takes Henry inside and straight to the sink, washing his hands from the paint and laying him down in his pack-and-play. Then, Neal has to go and wash his own hands off after having to contain the child and then paint 'home' onto the frame.

The frame's dry within a few minutes because of the heat and the sun outside and Neal brings it in, leaving it on the table for just a few more minutes to make sure that it's dry while he puts the other things they got away. After that, he put the picture in it, put it in the drawer that contains the things that he doesn't want people looking at (his sketchbook, old watch, etc…) and leaves it at that until Emma's birthday.

One week later, they're sitting in the living room, Henry on Neal's lap, the neighbor's, and Emma's friend Kate from work and her husband James over, and Emma picks up the frame. The second that she gets the wrapping paper off of it, tears build up in her eyes and she wraps her arms around him, being careful not to squash Henry.

She wipes her eyes off and stares at it a little bit more, smiling instead of crying now. "So, that's what you did that day," she says, laughing a little bit. Neal nods and takes her hand, everyone smiling at them. "Thank you," she whispers, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "I love it," she whispers into his ear.

Neal smiles at her and looks over at Henry. "I'm glad," Neal whispers, wrapping his arm around her, his other one preventing his son, the escape artist, from trying to crawl away.

She looks up at Neal, who kisses her temple as she goes on to the next thing. "I love you," he whispers, just quiet enough for her not to hear it, but he knows she does, too. She wouldn't be here if she didn't.


	10. The Right Thing

The door to the station slams and Emma rolls her eyes, continuing to do her work and waiting for Leroy to come marching down the hallway. "Hey, princess! What happened to the mines? Why can't we get in?" he asks, clearly angry with her. Emma doesn't even bother to look up at him but instead continues to do her paperwork.

She lifts a page, checking a box on the paper and letting it fall back to the other page. "There was a cave-in, Leroy. I already told you, that's David's case," she says, her voice monotone as she continues turning pages and going through books to find definitions. She hears the door slam again, looking up and making a face of confusion. _Leroy's already here. Who's that?_

Before Leroy can say anything, Neal marches into the station, holding Henry by the arm and she can practically see the smoke coming out of his ears. Leroy takes that as his cue to leave, thankfully. That leaves them alone with Henry.

She notices that his lip bleeding first thing. "What happened?" she asks, clearly surprised that Neal's mad at Henry in the first place. It's not a common thing for Neal to get mad at anybody, especially their eleven-year-old son, but when he does, everything gets chaotic.

Neal stands there, breathing heavily with Henry's arm still being held up by his hand as he waits for the boy to explain what he did. "He got in a fight at school, didn't you, Henry?" Neal says, waiting for the boys to admit to it. Henry just looks down at the ground, nodding in shame. Emma looks up at Neal, confused as to why Henry would ever hit anybody. Emma does have to say, by the looks of it, he won. "He wouldn't tell me why," Neal says, still just as mad as he was when he walked in.

Emma looks over at Henry, who walks over to her and looks down at the ground, still not saying anything. Neal sometimes uses… _colorful_ language when he's angry. Something tells Emma that Henry heard an earful of it on the drive over here. She's also learned that it's easier to get confessions out of Henry if she's softer with him. "Henry, why did you do this?" she asks, taking his hands in hers and looking up at him, tilting her head to the side to meet his eyes as he looks down.

His eyes start watering and Emma looks to Neal, who's staring at them, looking just as infuriated as before. "He was bullying a girl. He hit her and called her a bad name and Dad said that when someone's mean to someone who can't defend themselves, especially a girl, you fight for them," he says. Emma looks over to Neal, who now looks a little bit less in shock and a little bit more stunned and maybe even just a little bit proud.

Emma looks at Henry, her head tilted to the side as she notices his eyes start to water. "I didn't mean to get in trouble, I just wanted to help her. The other boy didn't even get in trouble, though, Mom. I told them what happened and they said that she should've told a teacher. They were all inside and he had her cornered. He would've beat her up if I didn't do something," he says and Emma nods, looking over at the wall, thinking for a minute.

After a moment, she looks back up at him. She keeps his hand in hers, rubbing the back of them. As anyone could imagine, Emma wasn't exactly unfamiliar with the unfair school system, given her attitude and need for everything to be fair for _everybody._ "I get that, kid. But, you know not to hit people, right?" she asks and Henry nods, opening his mouth to speak as a few tears fall from his eyes. "I used to get in trouble like this, too, so I really do get it. I know why you did it and I really wish that I could just let it go, but something tells me your other parents won't understand as well. So, I'm gonna tell you this. You don't hit people unless you absolutely have to. Did you absolutely have to?" she asks him and Henry looks over at her.

He lets go of her hands, suddenly angrier than before. "Yes, I did! He was hurting her! An ambulance had to come, Mom! An ambulance! He didn't just like, poke her or something, he beat the crap out of her! So, yeah, I had to!" he practically yells at her, looking over at Neal, as well, who clearly didn't get the whole story before now.

Emma nods in understanding, taking his hands back and to her surprise, he didn't let go of them. "Okay. Here's the deal, okay? This is a tricky situation because you did the right and wrong thing at the same time. He deserved it, I agree, I'm sure your dad does, too, right Neal?" she asks, looking over at him. Henry turns his head to see his father, who just nods and looks at the ground. "But, you really can't get into fights. You could be arrested, Henry," she tells him and the boys look turns from blank to absolute terror.

"I'm not going to, but I could. I think what we could do if your dad agrees, is we just take the book away for- let's say two days. You think that's fair? Given that I could arrest you instead?" she asks and Henry nods. She looks up at the boy's father, who looks back at her. "Do you?" she asks and Henry looks at his dad, hope and fear in his eyes as Neal nods once, looking back at Emma.

She nods again, looking back at Neal. Henry takes off his backpack and hands her the book. She takes it and sets it on her desk. "Okay, so… I personally am just doing this to say that I did something about it because I totally agree with you and I don't think Regina would. So… you guys wanna go get some ice cream from Every Given Sundae? It's half-price waffle cone day," she asks and Neal nods, Henry agreeing and they both take off. Emma stays behind, putting the book in a drawer and locking it after Henry's gone to make sure that he won't try and steal it back if he knows which one it's in.

 **So, I really liked this one. I got it off of an interview Jared did. It turned out different than I intended, but it's fine. Basically, he was talking about punishments and said that Henry goes to Emma first and asks for help when he's in trouble because she would probably just put him in a time-out and say no video games because all he could do is write and Regina would kill him. Then he brought up a thing about if they said he couldn't read the book and Henry would be like 'whaaa?' So, that's what they did in this. Very different reaction from Henry, though.**


	11. Young and In Love

**This one was requested by the-hidden-swan on Wattpad. Enjoy!**

"Holy crap. _Holy_ crap," she mumbles, pacing back and forth in the bathroom, Neal sitting on the counter and watching the timer as the seconds continue to count down, in hopes that it'll help calm the nerves, but it doesn't. It just makes it even more intense and anticipative. "They're gonna kill us. Both of us! You first, then me, and then you again," she says in a panic.

Neal looks at her with wide eyes, sitting up straighter and taking his eyes off of the timer. "Why do I need to die twice?" he asks, sounding offended but at the same time panicked. "It's not _just_ my fault!" he says, watching the clock. _Two minutes._ Dear God, could time move any slower than this?

She looks up at him, her whole body shaking as she stops to respond. "I don't know! David warned you about this, though!" she yells at him. She goes to the wall, leaning against it and placing her hands over her face. "They're gonna send me back. They are _so_ gonna send me back," she breathes with a high pitched tone, beginning to hyperventilate. Neal looks at the clock. _A minute and a half._

He jumps off of the counter, walking over to where she's standing against the bathroom wall and takes her hands off of her face. "They're not gonna send you back. This is your forever home, I'm sure of it. If it's not, maybe I can convince my parents to take you or something, or I'll go with you, but I am _not_ letting you be alone again," he affirmed, smiling at her, kissing her cheek and pulling her into a tight hug.

She shakes her head, her breathing still too fast to be safe for her at all if it stays that fast. He keeps her in his arms, humming a song he heard on the radio to calm her down. He doesn't know why, but whenever this happens, all he has to do is pull her into his arms and whisper to her or hum something and she's fine. He thinks it's because of the vibrations in his chest, but he's not sure.

This time, though, it's not helping as much as normal. This time, she's still freaking out, her whole body shaking. Apparently, it's gonna take more than that to calm her down. He wishes he's able to change the results on the test to calm her down, but that's impossible and he knows it.

"Hey, Em. Look at me, babe. Look at me," he calls to her, tilting her chin up to look at him with two fingers, but even seeing him doesn't change anything. "I know you're scared, love. I am, too. But, I need you to breathe right now, because passing out is not gonna solve any of our problems," he says softly to her, picking his hand up and rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

The timer goes off and it gets worse. She had started to calm down, then the stupid kitchen timer had to come and ruin it all. "Oh God," she mumbles, leaning her forehead against his chest and resting her forearms on his waist. He smiles down at her, rubbing her hair for a moment. Their lives might change completely over the course of the next few minutes and that was pretty terrifying. They were only juniors in high school… they weren't ready to take care of a baby. They still have a year of high school left. Another year before they're allowed to leave school completely.

He rubs her back in circles for a minute, just taking another second where they're still the same. They're not parents. They don't need to be adults. They're just some kids in high school standing in a bathroom together. "You want me to look first?" Neal asks. Emma nods, shaking as he lets go of her, walking over to the counter, looking back at her reassuringly, sighing deeply and picking up the little stick. "Oh my God," he whispers in a way that doesn't sound like the answer is what Emma wanted to hear _at all._

He looks back up at her with a certain look in his eyes, one that shows exactly what she didn't wanna see. "No. No, no, no. I can't. I can't do it. My parents are gonna make me leave. Neal, I can't do it," she cries, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks at a rate he's never seen them do so before, not even when she lost her dog, and that's saying something.

He puts the plastic stick back onto the counter and walks back over to her, wrapping her up in his arms tightly. "It's gonna be okay. It'll be okay. I promise that it'll be okay," he whispers, not letting go of her as he kisses her head, again and again, her arms going around him tightly. "I'm not gonna leave you," he mumbles, letting her lean against his chest. After a few minutes, she's calmed down and she's leaning with her back against the wall, her hand rubbing circles on the right side of his chest.

He rubs her back, his other hand supporting it and keeping it from touching the wall completely so it wouldn't hurt her. "I just dunno what to do," she mumbles, the words falling out of her mouth slowly, even though they're exactly what she's been thinking for the past few minutes, again and again.

He nods, closing his eyes and holding her tightly. He kisses her forehead, leaning back a bit. "Here's what we'll do, okay? We go tell your parents. After that, we can decide what we're gonna do; if we're gonna keep it, ya know… or if we'll give it up after it's born… or if we're gonna keep it forever and ever and ever," he whispers, tickling her side with his fingers as he says the last option. She smiles as he crouches down, putting his lips to her stomach.

She suddenly feels less scared about what's gonna happen next. She's here, not in the future. She can't tell what'll happen, no matter how much she's gonna think about it, so why not just relax and focus on the fact that her big, tough, football playing boyfriend is kneeling down and kissing her stomach, which is containing his baby boy or girl?

They both hear the front door open and Emma looks down at him with terror in her eyes. "Let's just do it now, babe. We can get it over with," he whispers and Emma shakes her head he sighs quietly, nodding at her decision, having to keep in mind that they're her parents and the baby is inside her body.

When Emma said that she didn't wanna tell her parents right then, Neal figured that she meant that they would wait a few hours, days at most, to let them know. But, as each day went on, Neal continued to wonder and wonder when they would tell her parents, and each day, he asked her again and again, to the point where it was considered begging almost. Before they knew it, it was October. They found out in September.

That was when Neal started getting angry when they talked about it. When Neal started getting angry, that was when Emma realized that she needed to tell her parents. So, she invited him over one day after school and they waited for her parents to get home. They sit up in her room, her head on his lap while he plays with her hair and they watch TV, just until her parents get home.

They look at each other and Neal takes Emma's hand, squeezing it reassuringly before they walk down the stairs, hand in hand, even though both of their palms are sweatier than ever before. They turn to face her parents, standing silently and waiting until someone notices them.

Emma's parents stand by the door, brushing leaves off of their clothes and her mom, Mary Margaret turns to face them. "Oh, hi, Neal! How are you guys?" she asks, looking at them and noticing that their standing still, very stiff, their hands clasped together until their knuckles are turning white and grimaces are spread across their faces.

Neal's obviously more cool about whatever it is than Emma, but that's really not saying much because Emma looks like she's about to burst into hysterics over there. "We gotta talk to you guys. Do you have a second?" Neal asks, looking over at them. Mary Margaret nods, going to sit at the kitchen table with David following shortly behind her.

They both sit down and Neal pulls out a chair for Emma before sitting down beside her, taking her hand in his once he's seated. David and Mary Margaret look at them expectantly, waiting for them to say something. "So, um," they both start at the same time, making Mary Margaret and David both let out a short chuckle. "I'm pregnant," Emma says, at the exact same time that Neal says, "She's pregnant."

Both of the parents look at them in shock, their eyes wide and mouths slightly agape. "Oh, um… okay. When did you find out?" Mary Margaret asks. Emma looks over to Neal, who looks over at Mary Margaret and thinks for a second.

"September 29, I think," he whispers, looking down at the table and beginning to draw shapes on it. Hearts, squares, circles, and stars. Anything to keep him from having to look up at the two people sitting across from him, who looked very disappointed and just downright angry the last time he checked.

Emma squeezes his hand under the table, probably preparing him for a massive attack from her father, but instead, he hears the words he never wanted to hear. "Get out," coming from across the table, a soft female voice says it with the smallest amount of regret laced with anger and disappointment. "Both of you. Get out of my house," she says, her voice louder and more stern. "You can pack your stuff and leave," she says, looking Emma in the eye and glaring. Emma freezes for a moment, but eventually stands, turning around and going up the staircase and to her room to do what she was told.

Neal sits in shock for a minute but eventually begins to understand what just happened. He shoots her a glare before standing and going to comfort his girlfriend upstairs. "Emma," he calls, only to find her sitting on the bed, tears falling down her cheeks and a blank expression on her face. "Hey," he whispers comfortingly, going over to her and attempting to wrap his arms around her, but she pushes him away.

He sits down on the side of the bed, looking at her as she takes her suitcase out from under the bed and starts throwing things into it. "You were wrong. You said they wouldn't make me leave. You said that I wouldn't be alone again. You lied to me!" she says, beginning to yell towards the end. She stops throwing things into the bag and breaks down sobbing, her hands covering her face while she makes no effort to calm down.

He walks over to her, kneeling down on the floor and taking her hands off of her face, holding them still, just like he did the day they found out. "Okay," he whispers, looking her in the eyes as she continues to break down. "I get why you're upset, anybody would be. It's fine that you're mad at me, you have every right to be. But, Em, I need you to calm down right now, because this is not good for your or the baby," he tells her, taking her hands and holding them tightly. "Can you take deep breaths for me?" he asks, doing it with her until she's calmed down.

She holds onto him as he stands up, sitting on the bed with her. She leans her head against his chest, breathing slowly as he rubs her back. "I'm still mad at you," she mumbles, closing her eyes.

He nods, his head resting on top of hers as he held her. "I know," he whispers, holding her tighter as she lets out another cry. "None of that, Em. We're done with that. Come on, babe. We gotta go now," he whispers, releasing his hold on her. "You can come home with me, I'll tell my parents and if they make you leave, we can go and get a hotel room," he whispers, not knowing if her parents would be so cruel as to make sure she doesn't have anywhere to go by calling his parents and telling them not to let her stay.

Emma nods, wiping her tears away, her tears beginning to fade into sniffles. With Neal's help, she's ready to go within twenty minutes and they're out the door, driving off in Neal's yellow bug that his father got him for his birthday. Neal takes Emma's hand, leaving the suitcase in the car while they go to tell his father. "Hello, Emma," he greets, seeing the two walking in together. Neal walks over to his dad with Emma holding his hand and sits at the table next to him.

Neal holds Emma's hand as he begins to talk. "So, um… Emma's pregnant. Is it okay if she stays here? Her parents kicked her out because of it and she doesn't have a place to stay," he explains, looking in between his father and mother, who both look surprised.

Neal looks over at his father, who looks in between them and nods. "Well, of course, son!" he says, his voice showing that he's not nearly as upset with them as he is with the Nolan's. Emma's eyes start tearing up as they both start talking, Neal answering questions about everything that Mr. Cassidy was wondering, while Milah walks over to her and smiles at her, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen.

Emma sits down on one of the stools in the kitchen while Milah walks into it. "Would you like a hot cocoa, Emma?" she asks, turning around to look at her while she opens the cabinet that sits above the coffee maker to take out a mug. Emma nods, the crying getting even worse, to the point where she's sobbing, her whole body shaking. "Neal, get in here and take care of your girl!" Milah yells from the kitchen and just seconds later, Neal's at her side and trying to comfort her, but Emma pushes him away.

Milah notices this and sends Neal off. He runs upstairs without saying anything else to anybody, probably to go and worry. Meanwhile, she tries to comfort Emma. "What's wrong, love?" she asks, sitting on the stool across from Emma and passing over a mug of hot cocoa. "Did my son do something silly again?" she asks, making Emma laugh. Neal was one to do silly things, especially in an attempt to make people laugh, but it doesn't end well very often.

Emma shakes her head, calming down quite a bit and finally being able to talk without having to stop every ten seconds because she's crying. "He said that they wouldn't give me away and they did. He lied to me," she says, looking at the mug on the counter and swirling the whipped cream around in it with her finger.

Milah tilts her head to the side, thinking about what the girl was saying. "Well, I see why you're upset, but isn't that something anyone would say to make you feel better? Maybe he actually thought they wouldn't make you leave and was just trying to comfort you. Unless he spoke to them earlier, he couldn't have possibly known that they would send you away. Judging from the fact that we never got a phone call or anything, my guess is that he didn't," she says, putting her hand on Emma's arm.

What Milah's saying makes sense to Emma. It makes her feel bad that she hasn't exactly been nice to Neal for the last hour or so, but it makes sense. "How about you go up there, I'll call you two when dinner's ready," she says and Emma nods, standing up and giving Milah a hug before following Neal up the staircase to apologize.

She goes to his door immediately, knowing which one it is after having been in it a bunch of times after school. "Hey," she whispers, going over to the bed, crawling across it and kneeling beside him. She wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder and looking at the picture in his hands.

She takes it out of them carefully, placing it back down on the nightstand where it was originally placed. "I'm sorry. For blaming you, I mean. You didn't know they would kick me out. It was wrong of me to get so mad at you over it," she says, going to sit beside him instead of behind him. He nods, looking over at her and leaning over to kiss her on the cheek.

Emma smiles at him as he does so, her eyes closing lightly. "Now, what were you looking at?" she asks, picking up the frame and scooting closer to him, leaning against his side and resting her head on his shoulder. "I never did ask who that is," she says, waiting for him to tell her exactly who the picture was of.

He tilts his head to the side, taking it out of the frame and handing the photograph to her. She looks at it confusedly until he flips it over, showing her the words written on the back of it. She reads the writing, smiling as she reads it. "So, that's you as a little kid?" she asks and Neal nods, looking over at her. She nods, finally understanding. "Oh, yeah. Same eyes," she says, pointing at the little boy's eyes on the picture. Neal smiles, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head.

Emma stays with the Cassidy's for a few days, until one day there's a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Neal says, hopping off of the couch and going to get to the door, right after kissing Emma quickly on the cheek and leaving her to watch an episode Alias by herself for a few minutes.

Neal opens the door and is shocked by who he sees standing there. "Hi, Neal. Can I talk to Emma for a minute?" Mary Margaret asks, standing on the front porch, wringing her hands as if she's anxious to speak to her daughter. Neal wasn't to yell 'no' at her, but he knows that that's not his choice to make.

So, he leaves it up to the person who should really get to decide. "Em, do you wanna talk to Mary Margaret?" he asks, calling from the front door. He hears footsteps padding down the hallway as she runs to the door, seeing her mother there. Mary Margaret gives her a weak smile and Emma looks to Neal and nods. He nods at her once before walking back to the couch.

Emma goes outside, closing the door behind her and standing on the porch in front of her mother. "Hey, what are you doin' here? I thought you like, never wanted to see me again, or something along those lines," Emma asks, tilting her head to the side and shoving her hands into the pockets of Neal's sweatshirt that he let her wear.

Mary Margaret shakes her head, looking at the ground. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean anything I might have said. I honestly don't remember exactly what I did say. I just remember being… confused and- and angry and I remember telling you to go, but that's it and I'm not mad anymore. I'm not. It took a lot to come out here and find you, but I want to know my grandchild and I'm not gonna be able to do that if I kicked you out forever. Oh, and I'm not mad at Neal, either by the way, if you could tell him that," she says, looking behind her daughter and at the wall, partially to avoid the possibility of seeing anger in Emma's eyes, but also because there are tears forming in them and tears were never Mary Margaret's thing.

Emma nods, stepping forwards to give her mother a hug as the tears begin to fall down her face. "I wanna go home," Emma whispers, her voice breaking. Mary Margaret nods, leaning back and taking Emma's face in her hands before reaching up and kissing her forehead. "Can I? Can I come home?" Emma asks, looking Mary Margaret in the eyes. She nods taking Emma's hand and leading her inside the house.

Milah glares at her from her spot in the kitchen and Mr. Cassidy does so from his seat at the kitchen table. Though only having been with the Cassidy's for a little over a week, they had all gotten to be a little bit protective over Emma, and having the woman who abandoned her in their house was not on their to-do list, even if Emma invited her in.

Neal looks up at Emma, making eye contact with her and she nods at him to come upstairs with her and Mary Margaret. Neal leans forwards, standing up off the couch and following his girlfriend and her mother up the staircase. The door closes softly as he enters the room, turning around to look at them. "I'm gonna go home," Emma says and Neal smiles at her (which, for the record, is the exact opposite of what she expected him to do,) and walks over, kissing her on the cheek and taking out her suitcase from where it was sitting in the closet.

They had been saying in the same room after Mr. Cassidy convinced his wife to let them. "She's already pregnant, there's not much else that can happen up there," he had said, which made everyone except Milah laugh as she nodded her approval and both Emma and Neal made their way upstairs to go to bed.

Everything was packed up and ready to go within a few minutes and before they knew it, everyone was crowding around the door, giving Emma hugs and kisses on the cheeks- Milah was even crying. It seemed as though she had gotten a new home along with the loss of her old one and she now had two homes, two places to go if she needed to escape the other one. And, something told her she would be spending many more nights over at Neal's house before the baby was born and they had to get an apartment for the two of them.

That's exactly what they did around four months later, every few days going in and adding something to the apartment, whether it was just a decorative piece, or paint to the walls of another room, finally moving into it after months and months of people coming over to paint rooms and put things together for them.

Then, three months after they first got their own home to decorate and do things with, Henry Daniel Cassidy was born and taken home three days later to a beautiful home with two amazing parents, something that neither of them ever thought could happen, but somehow managed to give the kid everything he needed.


	12. In Sickness and In Health

**I wrote this one a while ago and edited it the best I could, but sadly sometimes that's just not enough, so sorry if this one isn't too great.**

She was sick. Running a fever, not letting her parents into her room. It was gross and she was feeling like crap and just wanted to sleep it off. Her parents drove to her house at around two in the morning because Henry was freaking out because Emma looked like crap and she was sick, but she never got sick and he was worried.

He had a right to be, too. Snow didn't know how to make her feel better at three in the morning when Emma wouldn't let her on the other side of the door. She thought about who might know how to make her feel better that wouldn't mind driving over at three thirty in the morning, and Neal just happened to pop into her mind, so she called him.

The phone started ringing and she walked away from the door so Emma wouldn't know and try to stop her. "Hello?" Neal responded to the phone when he answered it. His voice was groggy and Snow reconsidered calling him.

She couldn't hang up now, though. She had already woken him up and if he wasn't able to help Emma, he might be able to calm Henry who was trying not to lose his mind and break the door down and go and take care of his mom who sounded like she had a stomach bug, by the looks of it. "Hey, Neal. Emma's sick, she's not letting us into her room, locked the door. I was wondering if you might be able to come help us out?" She asked, closing her eyes and crossing her fingers, praying he would say he could and come over to help them help their daughter.

Neal sounded more awake now. "I'll be over in ten. Is Henry okay?" He asked. He sounded like he was doing something, probably getting dressed, and Snow sighed.

She looked over at the boy, who was sitting against the wall beside his mom's bedroom door, waiting for her to open the door so he could go and help her. His fingers were balled into fists. "I don't think so. He's not sick. Just worried," she said, and Neal hummed, "Thank you, Neal," she sighed, and he hummed again, hanging up and speeding over to Emma's house.

Snow watched out the window as his car pulled in about twenty minutes later. He walked up the steps, wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, but it didn't matter to Snow how he looked. He was here to help Emma, that was what she cared about. "Sorry, I'm late. I went to the drugstore to get some ginger ale and peppermints. It helped her feel better when she got sick before," Snow nodded, smiling.

She wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield her body from the cold. "I don't care how late you are, I'm just glad you're here. She's in her room. Hasn't said much, I just know that there has been vomit. Consider that your warning," she said, looking over at him.

He nodded, "Lovely," he said, making a face and Snow laughed, leading him inside of Emma's house. He walked over to the door and saw Henry, who was just about done. "Hey buddy," Neal looked up at him. "How are you doing? You feel sick?" He asked, and Henry shook his head, moving so his dad could access the door without reaching over him.

Neal approached the door. Emma and he were better than they had been before, in Neverland, and they were working on the makings of a new relationship. He knocked on the wood, not hearing any response. "Em's, it's me," he said, calling for her. He would pick the lock if it was necessary, but he prayed that it wouldn't be. There wasn't any reply. "Sweetheart, just open the door," he said, looking over at Henry who was looking at him with a stare, trying to silently communicate that it was no use. "M'kay, Snow, do you have a bobby pin or a paperclip I could borrow?" He asked, and Snow nodded, going into the office and taking a paperclip from the drawer.

She brought it back to him, watching as he got level with the doorknob and twisted it a few times before there was a click and he was able to open the door with ease. He makes a face and handed the paper clip back to her, going inside and closing the door, locking it again. He walked in and saw that Emma was sitting in the bathroom that was inside the room. "Hey," he whispered, sweetly, walking over to her, slowly. "You feeling any better?" He asked, and she shook her head, closing her eyes and swallowing thickly.

Neal looked over at her, smiling. He sat beside her on the ground. "I brought this, thought it might help," He said, handing her a can of the ginger ale. "Would bed be a good idea?" He asked, and she shook her head rapidly. "Okay," he whispered, placing everything he had on the ground and moving over to her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "How long have you been feeling bad?" He asked, looking back at her, playing with her hair that fell against her back.

She shrugged. "Midnight? I can't remember," she whispered, fearing if she talked any louder it would backfire and she would find herself moving from his arms to go and do the same thing she had done many times already that night.

He nodded and she felt it against her head. "That's okay," he whispered, squeezing her shoulders. He reached over and grabbed one of the ginger ales that her brought over, opening one and holding it up for her to drink from it. "Whoa, little sips. We have all the time that we need," he whispered when she tried to just gulp it down so she could relax again. "There we go," he said, putting it back down on the edge of the bathtub so that it wouldn't get knocked over. "Wanna take a nap?" He asked, and she nodded slightly. "We should go lay down," he said, wanting to prompt her to go and lay down in bed where she would be more comfortable. She shook her head, closing her eyes lightly. "M'kay," he whispered, pulling her onto his lap and letting her relax into his embrace.

She felt like crap. That was actually an understatement, but there weren't any other ways to describe it that didn't involve swear words, so she stuck to that one. She fell asleep for about an hour, but woke up and threw up again, which Neal didn't mind other than the fact that she felt like crap, but he was glad he was there to make her feel somewhat better. He held her hair back and then let her take a shower before they returned to sitting the same way they were sitting on the floor before.

This was the definition of a crappy night for her. He was actually fine with taking care of her at four thirty in the morning instead of sleeping. That didn't bug him. The thing that did was that she wasn't even able to sleep because she felt so bad that she would wake up to vomit, which was awful. Neal knew that. There had been times that his nightmares had made him throw up and then his entire body would just ache to hold her. That only happened once or twice while they were together.

That was plenty enough for him, though. He didn't like feeling weak in front of her, especially when it was over something as stupid as his father. It was better than watching her feel that way, or even worse. Once it had been a few hours, he picked her up and took her to bed where she might actually be able to sleep and went to get a bowl from the kitchen, so that if anything else happened, they were prepared.

Then, he turned to TV on for her when she didn't want to just sit there, and then he went to get the peppermints from his car and then they sat there and ate them together. Emma was feeling better after a few hours and actually fell asleep. As she drifted off to sleep, Neal heard her mumble something. "Don't leave,"

He smiled, hugging her tighter and pulling the blanket up further on her arm that wasn't covered by anything because she was in a tank top. "I won't," he whispered, taking her hand and kissing it before her eyes fell and she started breathing softer as she snuggled up into his side.

The next time she woke up was in the morning, at around 10:00. David had told Neal not to let her leave, to just stay in bed and rest, while he took Henry to school with Mary Margaret and then he took himself to the station to finish Emma's cases for her, just as a little surprise to make her feel better. "Hey," he whispered to her as she woke up. She blinked as the light stung her eyes, before smiling sleepily at him. She cuddled up into his side and he didn't know if she wanted to go back to sleep or not but wanted to ask her a question now instead of later. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

She closed her eyes again. "Not worse," she confessed as if she didn't want to be telling him this. "Thank you for staying with me last night. It made me feel a lot better," she acknowledged, cuddling further into his chest and sighing.

He smiled, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her forehead, not caring how sick she was and how he would probably be in this position within the next few days, but instead alone in his apartment. "Anytime, Em's," he whispered, not wanting her to feel bad about waking him up to come and make her feel better. He was just glad that she was okay and it hadn't yet proved to be anything worse than just the common stomach bug that was coming back into season.

Soon, the entire town would be hidden inside their houses in fear of catching the sickness, children would be running to the bathrooms in the middle of math class at Henry's school, and Emma herself would turn into over-protective parent, making him carry a travel sized hand sanitizer on his lunchbox to make sure that he didn't catch it before sitting down to eat lunch with Violet.

It wasn't for Violet, though, but for Henry, so that he wouldn't be spending his time curled up on the couch with his head in Emma's lap and watching endless episodes of _The Amazing World of Gumball,_ and Emma's personal favorite, _Teen Titans Go!_

Neal thought the behavior that he would witness from his son and his mother when he was sick was much too childlike for both of them, especially since Henry would get overly attached to his mother and only let her get up to go to the bathroom and bring food over to the couch and eat with him. Neal usually ended up getting the much-dreaded text message from her asking, no, _begging_ him to go and get more medicine or food or candy, or something that Emma would normally get herself but didn't want to see her son break down when she left to pick them up.

He knew that the candy and food weren't usually for the boy, but knew that Emma had to do something while having to sit through the childish cartoons that he was sure that she liked, but didn't make her admit it. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" He asked, knowing that if she didn't feel good, normally she used to just sleep until either she couldn't anymore, or it went away and she felt better.

She shook her head. Why? He had no idea. She didn't feel good, he would have figured that she would just go to sleep so that she would feel better, or not feel anything at all for as long as possible. Her entire body ached in a way that she didn't know how to describe, but she was dead set on staying awake for some reason. "Why?" He asked, sounding like she had grown three heads, in an audible way. She wasn't being reasonable.

She cuddled up closer to him before picking her head up. "I want to be awake while you're here," she tried to reason. He smiled, his heart aching to just stay with her forever so she wouldn't ever have to make an excuse like that again.

He smiled, seeing no reason why he couldn't. "I'll stay with you for as long as you want," he said, squeezing her shoulder and aiding her in getting even closer to him, in order to be able to be comfortable. She always liked to be as close to him as possible, which was just adorable to him. She liked being close; cuddling with people, it seemed.

She smiled but calmly responded. "No," She whispered, and he wanted to just run and hide in a deep dark hole of safety from the extreme shame and embarrassment he was feeling. She just said that she wanted to be awake while he was here. Was it just that she didn't trust him to not do anything dangerous? Did she just want to know when he left so she would know that she was okay?

His eyes nearly started to fill with tears as he tried to not react physically to the situation that he had been presented with. "What?" He choked, trying to keep a steady voice as he questioned her. Sure, it would be unsurprising if she confirmed that his fears were true, but he hoped that she wouldn't.

She breathed, her breath warm on his chest as it was filtered through the thin t-shirt he was wearing. "If you stayed for as long as I wanted, you'd never leave," She confessed, and he felt a sense of painful relief flow through him. She wanted him to stay! That was good, not bad. It kind of was bad actually, because she had been hiding it this whole time, but it was good in the sense that he was wanted.

He smiled, looking down at her and inhaling a gasp of pleasure and relief. "Well, you're right. I can't never leave because I'd die of starvation. But I can try again with you if that's what you meant," he whispered, and she smiled, her lip trembling as she cuddled into his side even further than before and nodding. He kissed her head again, and her eyes closed slowly as she fell into a deep sleep.

He felt extremely satisfied. She was his girlfriend, which was actually quite an achievement for him because he never thought that would happen again. He was glad that she was feeling a little bit better. Better enough to want to be held, at least, which was always a good thing because he always wanted to make her feel better.

After a few hours of being asleep, she woke up. They spent the day in her room, mostly cuddled up on the bed together watching movies. The only times either of them got up was when she got sick again and Neal had to go and wash out the bowl in the sink and get her a new one and when she went to take a shower for the same reason. Neal also spent the night that night before going back to the inn, only to come back the next night for dinner with his family.

I wrote this one a while ago and edited it the best I could, but sadly sometimes that's just not enough, so sorry if this one isn't too great.

She was sick. Running a fever, not letting her parents into her room. It was gross and she was feeling like crap and just wanted to sleep it off. Her parents drove to her house at around two in the morning because Henry was freaking out because Emma looked like crap and she was sick, but she never got sick and he was worried.

He had a right to be, too. Snow didn't know how to make her feel better at three in the morning when Emma wouldn't let her on the other side of the door. She thought about who might know how to make her feel better that wouldn't mind driving over at three thirty in the morning, and Neal just happened to pop into her mind, so she called him.

The phone started ringing and she walked away from the door so Emma wouldn't know and try to stop her. "Hello?" Neal responded to the phone when he answered it. His voice was groggy and Snow reconsidered calling him.

She couldn't hang up now, though. She had already woken him up and if he wasn't able to help Emma, he might be able to calm Henry who was trying not to lose his mind and break the door down and go and take care of his mom who sounded like she had a stomach bug, by the looks of it. "Hey, Neal. Emma's sick, she's not letting us into her room, locked the door. I was wondering if you might be able to come help us out?" She asked, closing her eyes and crossing her fingers, praying he would say he could and come over to help them help their daughter.

Neal sounded more awake now. "I'll be over in ten. Is Henry okay?" He asked. He sounded like he was doing something, probably getting dressed, and Snow sighed.

She looked over at the boy, who was sitting against the wall beside his mom's bedroom door, waiting for her to open the door so he could go and help her. His fingers were balled into fists. "I don't think so. He's not sick. Just worried," she said, and Neal hummed, "Thank you, Neal," she sighed, and he hummed again, hanging up and speeding over to Emma's house.

Snow watched out the window as his car pulled in about twenty minutes later. He walked up the steps, wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, but it didn't matter to Snow how he looked. He was here to help Emma, that was what she cared about. "Sorry, I'm late. I went to the drugstore to get some ginger ale and peppermints. It helped her feel better when she got sick before," Snow nodded, smiling.

She wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield her body from the cold. "I don't care how late you are, I'm just glad you're here. She's in her room. Hasn't said much, I just know that there has been vomit. Consider that your warning," she said, looking over at him.

He nodded, "Lovely," he said, making a face and Snow laughed, leading him inside of Emma's house. He walked over to the door and saw Henry, who was just about done. "Hey buddy," Neal looked up at him. "How are you doing? You feel sick?" He asked, and Henry shook his head, moving so his dad could access the door without reaching over him.

Neal approached the door. Emma and he were better than they had been before, in Neverland, and they were working on the makings of a new relationship. He knocked on the wood, not hearing any response. "Em's, it's me," he said, calling for her. He would pick the lock if it was necessary, but he prayed that it wouldn't be. There wasn't any reply. "Sweetheart, just open the door," he said, looking over at Henry who was looking at him with a stare, trying to silently communicate that it was no use. "M'kay, Snow, do you have a bobby pin or a paperclip I could borrow?" He asked, and Snow nodded, going into the office and taking a paperclip from the drawer.

She brought it back to him, watching as he got level with the doorknob and twisted it a few times before there was a click and he was able to open the door with ease. He makes a face and handed the paper clip back to her, going inside and closing the door, locking it again. He walked in and saw that Emma was sitting in the bathroom that was inside the room. "Hey," he whispered, sweetly, walking over to her, slowly. "You feeling any better?" He asked, and she shook her head, closing her eyes and swallowing thickly.

Neal looked over at her, smiling. He sat beside her on the ground. "I brought this, thought it might help," He said, handing her a can of the ginger ale. "Would bed be a good idea?" He asked, and she shook her head rapidly. "Okay," he whispered, placing everything he had on the ground and moving over to her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "How long have you been feeling bad?" He asked, looking back at her, playing with her hair that fell against her back.

She shrugged. "Midnight? I can't remember," she whispered, fearing if she talked any louder it would backfire and she would find herself moving from his arms to go and do the same thing she had done many times already that night.

He nodded and she felt it against her head. "That's okay," he whispered, squeezing her shoulders. He reached over and grabbed one of the ginger ales that her brought over, opening one and holding it up for her to drink from it. "Whoa, little sips. We have all the time that we need," he whispered when she tried to just gulp it down so she could relax again. "There we go," he said, putting it back down on the edge of the bathtub so that it wouldn't get knocked over. "Wanna take a nap?" He asked, and she nodded slightly. "We should go lay down," he said, wanting to prompt her to go and lay down in bed where she would be more comfortable. She shook her head, closing her eyes lightly. "M'kay," he whispered, pulling her onto his lap and letting her relax into his embrace.

She felt like crap. That was actually an understatement, but there weren't any other ways to describe it that didn't involve swear words, so she stuck to that one. She fell asleep for about an hour, but woke up and threw up again, which Neal didn't mind other than the fact that she felt like crap, but he was glad he was there to make her feel somewhat better. He held her hair back and then let her take a shower before they returned to sitting the same way they were sitting on the floor before.

This was the definition of a crappy night for her. He was actually fine with taking care of her at four thirty in the morning instead of sleeping. That didn't bug him. The thing that did was that she wasn't even able to sleep because she felt so bad that she would wake up to vomit, which was awful. Neal knew that. There had been times that his nightmares had made him throw up and then his entire body would just ache to hold her. That only happened once or twice while they were together.

That was plenty enough for him, though. He didn't like feeling weak in front of her, especially when it was over something as stupid as his father. It was better than watching her feel that way, or even worse. Once it had been a few hours, he picked her up and took her to bed where she might actually be able to sleep and went to get a bowl from the kitchen, so that if anything else happened, they were prepared.

Then, he turned to TV on for her when she didn't want to just sit there, and then he went to get the peppermints from his car and then they sat there and ate them together. Emma was feeling better after a few hours and actually fell asleep. As she drifted off to sleep, Neal heard her mumble something. "Don't leave,"

He smiled, hugging her tighter and pulling the blanket up further on her arm that wasn't covered by anything because she was in a tank top. "I won't," he whispered, taking her hand and kissing it before her eyes fell and she started breathing softer as she snuggled up into his side.

The next time she woke up was in the morning, at around 10:00. David had told Neal not to let her leave, to just stay in bed and rest, while he took Henry to school with Mary Margaret and then he took himself to the station to finish Emma's cases for her, just as a little surprise to make her feel better. "Hey," he whispered to her as she woke up. She blinked as the light stung her eyes, before smiling sleepily at him. She cuddled up into his side and he didn't know if she wanted to go back to sleep or not but wanted to ask her a question now instead of later. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

She closed her eyes again. "Not worse," she confessed as if she didn't want to be telling him this. "Thank you for staying with me last night. It made me feel a lot better," she acknowledged, cuddling further into his chest and sighing.

He smiled, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her forehead, not caring how sick she was and how he would probably be in this position within the next few days, but instead alone in his apartment. "Anytime, Em's," he whispered, not wanting her to feel bad about waking him up to come and make her feel better. He was just glad that she was okay and it hadn't yet proved to be anything worse than just the common stomach bug that was coming back into season.

Soon, the entire town would be hidden inside their houses in fear of catching the sickness, children would be running to the bathrooms in the middle of math class at Henry's school, and Emma herself would turn into over-protective parent, making him carry a travel sized hand sanitizer on his lunchbox to make sure that he didn't catch it before sitting down to eat lunch with Violet.

It wasn't for Violet, though, but for Henry, so that he wouldn't be spending his time curled up on the couch with his head in Emma's lap and watching endless episodes of _The Amazing World of Gumball,_ and Emma's personal favorite, _Teen Titans Go!_

Neal thought the behavior that he would witness from his son and his mother when he was sick was much too childlike for both of them, especially since Henry would get overly attached to his mother and only let her get up to go to the bathroom and bring food over to the couch and eat with him. Neal usually ended up getting the much-dreaded text message from her asking, no, _begging_ him to go and get more medicine or food or candy, or something that Emma would normally get herself but didn't want to see her son break down when she left to pick them up.

He knew that the candy and food weren't usually for the boy, but knew that Emma had to do something while having to sit through the childish cartoons that he was sure that she liked, but didn't make her admit it. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" He asked, knowing that if she didn't feel good, normally she used to just sleep until either she couldn't anymore, or it went away and she felt better.

She shook her head. Why? He had no idea. She didn't feel good, he would have figured that she would just go to sleep so that she would feel better, or not feel anything at all for as long as possible. Her entire body ached in a way that she didn't know how to describe, but she was dead set on staying awake for some reason. "Why?" He asked, sounding like she had grown three heads, in an audible way. She wasn't being reasonable.

She cuddled up closer to him before picking her head up. "I want to be awake while you're here," she tried to reason. He smiled, his heart aching to just stay with her forever so she wouldn't ever have to make an excuse like that again.

He smiled, seeing no reason why he couldn't. "I'll stay with you for as long as you want," he said, squeezing her shoulder and aiding her in getting even closer to him, in order to be able to be comfortable. She always liked to be as close to him as possible, which was just adorable to him. She liked being close; cuddling with people, it seemed.

She smiled but calmly responded. "No," She whispered, and he wanted to just run and hide in a deep dark hole of safety from the extreme shame and embarrassment he was feeling. She just said that she wanted to be awake while he was here. Was it just that she didn't trust him to not do anything dangerous? Did she just want to know when he left so she would know that she was okay?

His eyes nearly started to fill with tears as he tried to not react physically to the situation that he had been presented with. "What?" He choked, trying to keep a steady voice as he questioned her. Sure, it would be unsurprising if she confirmed that his fears were true, but he hoped that she wouldn't.

She breathed, her breath warm on his chest as it was filtered through the thin t-shirt he was wearing. "If you stayed for as long as I wanted, you'd never leave," She confessed, and he felt a sense of painful relief flow through him. She wanted him to stay! That was good, not bad. It kind of was bad actually, because she had been hiding it this whole time, but it was good in the sense that he was wanted.

He smiled, looking down at her and inhaling a gasp of pleasure and relief. "Well, you're right. I can't never leave because I'd die of starvation. But I can try again with you if that's what you meant," he whispered, and she smiled, her lip trembling as she cuddled into his side even further than before and nodding. He kissed her head again, and her eyes closed slowly as she fell into a deep sleep.

He felt extremely satisfied. She was his girlfriend, which was actually quite an achievement for him because he never thought that would happen again. He was glad that she was feeling a little bit better. Better enough to want to be held, at least, which was always a good thing because he always wanted to make her feel better.

After a few hours of being asleep, she woke up. They spent the day in her room, mostly cuddled up on the bed together watching movies. The only times either of them got up was when she got sick again and Neal had to go and wash out the bowl in the sink and get her a new one and when she went to take a shower for the same reason. Neal also spent the night that night before going back to the inn, only to come back the next night for dinner with his family.


	13. To Fix Us

Emma looks up from her laptop, assuming the creaking of the floorboards is just Henry going to the bathroom, but instead sees Neal standing in the doorway, tears streaming down his cheeks and his face red. "Oh, hey," she cooes, putting her laptop away on her desk and going over to him. "What happened?" she asks, taking his hand and leading him over to the bed, where he sits down next to her.

He shakes his head, looking up at her. "I don't know," he mumbles, closing his eyes and letting more tears spill out of them. She nods at him, smiling sadly and getting up. She takes his hand once again, leading him over to the right side of her bed and letting him lay down before going around to the other side, herself and shutting the lights off.

She lays down beside him, letting him scoot over into her arms, his head on her stomach as he listens to her breathing. She combs her fingers through his hair, taking his hand and resting both of their hands on her stomach. "It's been a long day, you should rest," she whispers, but he shakes his head, wrapping his arms around her as best he can from the position he's in.

She smiles at him, brushing through his hair. He reaches up at takes her hand once again after having let go of it and she squeezes it comfortingly. "It's okay. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you," she assures and he nods, letting out a cry.

He almost died today. Emma had to use her magic to save him, something that he was in opposition of but decided to let her do it after quite a few minutes of persuasion. Gold had warned her that he would be a little bit out of it for a little while, mostly clingy and frightened, but she was fine with that if he would be okay.

That was proving to be true, seeing as it was almost two-thirty in the morning and he was holding onto her like she was his lifeline. "I'm right here," she whispers, looking down at him, who's attempting to bury his face into her stomach. She continues running her fingers through her hair until Henry comes over to the door.

Emma looks up at him, smiling softly and continuing to let Neal just cry into her stomach, soaking her shirt. "What's up?" Emma asks, watching Henry as he walks over to the side of the bed, leaning down and wrapping his arms around his father. Henry got his memories back earlier in the day, so he remembered Neal.

Neal doesn't respond to the arms being wrapped around him, so Henry stands up, letting go of his father. "Is he okay? I heard him crying so I came to make sure he was okay when he wasn't in his room," he explains and Emma nods, looking down at Neal and putting her hand on his back. "'Kay. Night, Mom," Henry says, going out the door to the room and back to his own bedroom.

Why her child was up at almost three in the morning, she did not know, but she thought it was almost unbearably adorable that he came to check on his dad. It just showed how much the two of them cared about each other, even if they hadn't known each other for that long.

Emma rubs circles on Neal's back, holding onto him as tightly as she can from her spot above him on the bed. "Neal. Honey, can you take deep breaths for me? Can you do that?" she asks, sitting up and helping him do so as well as he begins to hyperventilate. She sits in front of him, breathing with him until he's calmed down enough so that she wasn't as worried.

He leans forwards, resting his forehead against his shoulder. She puts her arm over his shoulder as best she can and takes his hand, letting him squeeze it whenever he needed to to calm down. "You wanna lay down?" she asks after a few minutes and he nods, leaning back against the pillows and taking _her_ into _his_ arms this time instead of the other way around.

She moves closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist just to prove that she's not going anywhere. Neal's hand immediately goes to her back, the other one to the back of her head as she holds onto him. He's not completely sure that she's not going anywhere, but the fact that she's still there is quite reassuring.

Emma sits up for a second, trying to straighten out the blankets from up on the bed because she doesn't know what'll happen if she gets up, but when she's not able to do that, she just goes back to him. She settles back into his arms, both their arms going around each other the same way as before, except Neal's arms are much tighter around her than before. "Neal," she says, her voice strained as she tries to breathe the right way, but she can't exactly do it.

She reaches next to her and tries to get him to move his arm, but he doesn't budge. If he wasn't still crying, she would be afraid that he fell asleep because he wasn't listening to her like he normally would. "Hey, I can't breathe," she says, a chuckle to her voice. Nothing happens. She thinks for a second about what she would do if he doesn't let go within the next few minutes (she's gonna have to breathe at _some_ point) and comes to the conclusion that she has Henry in the next room, completely awake at that.

She taps on his shoulder, hoping that he might take a hint, but he doesn't. She looks up at him and chuckles. "Wanna switch spots?" she asks. He doesn't even look down at her, he just keeps staring at the walls and ceiling. "Okay, I'm gonna have to get my father in here if you don't let go in a few minutes because this isn't exactly working very well. So, you can let go, or you can wait for him to come and make you let go. I don't wanna call him, but I'm running out of options," she whispers. That catches his attention and he let's go, fully expecting her to get up and leave, but she doesn't.

She reaches up, kissing him on the forehead, before leaning back into his arms, her arms around him and a small smile on her face as she cuddles up into his chest. "Thank you," she whispers, closing her eyes lightly. A few seconds later, she opens them again and looks up at him. "You know I love you, right?" she asks. Neal tilts his head to the side and nods slightly. Emma gives him her best 'seriously' face and shakes her head at him. "I do," she whispers, leaning forwards and giving him a kiss.

He shakes his head, looking down and avoiding her eyes. "I'm too broken," he whispers, looking away from her. She shakes her head, looking at him until he looks back at her. "Too many scars," he whispers, but she shakes her head. Before he knows it, she's moving her head to the side and kissing right where the scar from the bullet wound is located under his shirt.

She then leans back, picking up her oversized shirt and showing him the scar from the exact same thing on her stomach. "Don't you talk to me about scars," she tells him, putting it back down and moving into his arms. "And as for being broken," she whispers, drawing circles lazily on his chest as she cuddles up next to him. "We'll fix each other, just like always," she whispers, closing her eyes.

He wraps his arms around her, squeezing her tightly before loosening his hold on her and closing his eyes as well, before opening them right back up again. "Em?" he asks, looking down at her. She picks her head up, opening her eyes to look at him. He smiles at her, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I love you, too," he states, squeezing her tightly. They're both asleep within ten minutes.


	14. I'll Look After You

**This one reminds me of a time when I did something quite similar to what** ** _Emma_** **did... Anyway, enjoy!**

Neal looks away from Belle for one minute, over to Emma, only to see her hand covered in a bloody bandage. This time, his doesn't wanna even finish the conversation with his step-mother (sorta) and walks over to Emma. "Jeez, Em, what'd you do?" he asks, sitting across from her in the booth.

Meanwhile, everybody is in the same clothes they've been wearing for the past few weeks, including him with his shirt that has a bullet hole through it, so he doesn't really have any talking rights when it comes to wearing dirty clothes...

She looks up at him from her hot cocoa, which is being held by her right hand rather than her left, which proves that not only is it bleeding, but it hurts. "I may or may not have lost it in the bathroom and punched the mirror. I didn't break it, but I might've broken my hand, so..." she says, scrunching up her nose.

He sighs at her, closing his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation. He also kind of hope that she doesn't tell him what got her upset because then he might get upset and won't be able to help her with _her_ hand because _his_ hand might be screwed up. "Lemme see?" he asks and she holds out her hand to him.

He takes the bandage wrap off of it and tilts his head to the side. "You didn't even clean it off, did you?" he asks and she shakes her head, chuckling a little bit. Henry runs over to them, looking at Emma's hand before widening his eyes in shock, letting the shock set in, then running off back to Regina and pulling on her shirt. "Yeah, he gets that from you," Neal says before getting up and walking away.

Emma opens her mouth, wondering if he was just being really, really random, or if he was gonna come back. She took the bandage, which already had bleed through and was already a little damp on the other side with blood, and attempted to wrap her hand back up with her one good hand. "Now I know how Hook feels," she mumbles, trying to use her mouth to do it, but gets nowhere.

Less than thirty seconds later, she looks up to see the one and only Neal Cassidy looking at her like she's lost her mind. "What're you _doing?"_ he asks, holding a bowl of water and a roll of paper towels. She looks up at him, ready to come up with an excuse, but he just shakes his head at her and sits down again. "Never mind, I don't wanna know. Lemme see it again," he says, reaching out for her hand, which she hands over without a fight.

She watches as he unwraps it- even though she didn't get too far, anyway- and looks up at her, smiling apologetically. "I gotta clean it before I can see if it's broken... It's not gonna be fun, sorry," he says, taking one of the paper towels and dipping it in the water before putting it on her hand. She winces, biting her lip as her face scrunches up in pain.

He looks up at her, letting go of her hand for just a second to grab her other one, squeezing it lightly and tilting his head to the side. "You okay?" he asks, watching for a response as she nods, opening her eyes. He squeezes her hand once more before letting go and proceeding to wash the blood off of her hands, only to reveal a bruise covering the span of her knuckles.

The process of poking around at it and having her ball her hand into a fist is enough to make even him wince and he's the one doing it. "What time does the clinic close here?" Neal asks, looking up at her from her hand, which stays in its spot in his.

Emma makes a thinking face, one that shows that she is, in fact, thinking. "I think around midnight," she says and he nods, looking over at her and smiling. "Let's go," he says, standing and reaching for her good hand to help her up. They walk over to her parents and explain what happened and then they go, getting into the bug.

Emma starts to walk over to the driver's side of the car, but Neal stops her. "Nope. You have a hurt hand. I'm driving," he says, holding out his hand for her keys. She rolls her eyes, using her good hand to pull them out of her back pocket and handing them over to him. He smiles at her, going into the other side of the car and driving off to the hospital.

Whale's there the second they get in, ready to see her as soon as she's ready to be seen. "Oh God," Neal hears her mumble as he fills out the paperwork. He reaches over and grabs her hand, holding it tightly without taking his eyes off of the clipboard. He can hear her breathing calm down as he holds her hand, which makes her smile.

Neal lets go of her hand when he has to get up, bringing it up to his lips and giving it a quick kiss before going. Emma smiles up at him as he goes and gives the paperwork to the secretary person. He takes it back when he sits back down and holds it until she has to go in. "Do you want me to go in, or should I wait out here?" he asks as she stands up when Whale calls her name, her hand still in his as she stands.

She closes her eyes for a quick second before tugging on his hand silently, a silent plea for him to come with her. Whale has her sit on the big doctor table and he looks at her hand. "So, you punched a mirror, huh?" he asks, poking her hand a little bit. It's not like she's gonna respond as she's sitting, her teeth gritted and her face scrunched up in pain, all the while squeezing Neal's hand so hard that she'll be surprised if _he_ doesn't need to get his hand checked next.

Whale nods, sitting back on his spinny doctor chair (a/n: love those btw) and looks up at her. "It's not looking too great, Ms. Swan. I'm gonna go order an x-ray if that's okay?" he asks, looking over at Neal because Emma's still obviously in great amounts of pain. Neal nods as Whale stares up at Emma, wishing he could get her some pain medication or something. "I'll come get you when it's ready," he says, leaving the room.

Neal hops off of the table, standing in front of Emma and pulling her into his arms. Her forehead immediately goes to rest against his chest and his hand goes to her back, rubbing it in slow and calming circles. "You okay?" he asks, pulling away as she calms down, hearing her breathing steady. She nods, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Do you need anything? It sounds like we could be here for a long time," he says, putting his hands on her arms.

She swallows quickly, trying to breathe a little bit better instead of dealing with double-breathing, something that she's always hated. "Can we get something to eat?" she asks and Neal nods, taking her hand to help her down and walking over to the vending machine across the hall from their clinic room.

Neal looks over at her, who is carefully assessing all of her options. "Apollo bar or M&M's?" he asks, smiling at her. She chuckles, realizing that she has _definitely_ got overprotective parents as he teases her, knowing that she prefers M&M's over Apollo bars.

He hands her the little bag of M&M's, walking back to their room, standing outside so that they don't get in trouble after reading the sign that says in bold letters that there are no food or drinks allowed in the room. Whale walks over to them, beckoning them over to him. Emma looks over at Neal, who takes the bag from her, holding both that, his chocolate bar, and her coat in one hand so that he could hold her hand with his other one.

They walk down the hallway to radiology. Neal's never actually _been_ in one of these rooms, so he thinks it's pretty awesome, but he knows that he needs to be there for Emma, not looking around at the different kinds of gadgets.

Whale has her sit down on a stool, a heavy piece of fabric, one that looks like what the dentist makes you wear for x-rays on her lap and her hand on the table. Whale moves it around in weird ways, taking many different pictures. By the time they can leave the room, Emma's in tears again, her whole body shaking with cries.

Neal goes over to her, seeing that not only is she crying, but her nose is starting to turn blue because of how cold she is. He takes her jacket off of where it's hanging on his arm and puts it on her before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and leading her out of the room. "It's okay. It's over now," he whispers, his arms around her as he had thrown away the candies in the X-ray room, seeing as they were beginning to melt for some odd reason.

Whale leads them into the same clinic room as before, sticking the X-ray onto a glowing screen and looking over it. "Yeah, you have, like, at least three breaks. Maybe four or five. How hard did you hit that thing?!" he asks, walking over to the cabinet and taking out a splint, putting it on her hand without a comment and leaving the room.

Neal smiles at her as they leave the hospital. They get in the car, Neal driving behind Granny's, seeing that it's now closed and the lights are all off. "Okay, then. Let's get you home," he says, driving her home, around the other side of Granny's and pulling into her apartment building's parking lot.

Emma looks over at him as he stops the car and pulls the keys out of the ignition. "Thank you for taking care of me tonight," she says, looking over at him and smiling. He nods, handing her the keys. "Wanna come spend the night with me? It'll probably be lonely in your hotel room and I don't wanna sleep alone tonight," she says, tilting her head to the side.

Neal smiles at her, taking a minute to think about it before responding. "I would love to," he says, smiling over at her. Her smile gets bigger as he talks. She reaches over the center console in the car and kisses him quickly before opening the door and going upstairs as quickly as she can without running because Neal said not to run.


	15. Fighting is Stupid

The fight was stupid. They were in the middle of an argument, fighting over something. She said something hurtful, and he fired back with an equally as awful name before hanging up. Of all the ways to lose her, he wasn't thinking it would be like this, with her whole family lecturing him while she was in surgery.

After hearing it all, Henry went to get ice cream from the cafeteria to brighten things up a bit, taking the main lecturer with him, Regina. Neal took out his headphones and listened to her favorite song about thirty times before Henry returned with a chocolate cone for Neal and a vanilla bowl for Emma that was a special one so it would stay cold for a few hours.

He and Henry sat and made a little notebook that he had gotten with Regina at the gift store, making everyone contribute to the little book of things that they loved about Emma that they would give her when she woke up. Neal even went to the little center across the street to get her some flowers as an 'I'm sorry' present.

Alas, Neal couldn't see the future. He couldn't have known that Whale would walk out with blood covering his gloves and entire outfit, saying that he was sorry and they could have ten minutes to say goodbye in all. He walked away before anyone could say anything else. Neal's heart dropped into his stomach.

He felt like he would vomit. His last words he would ever say to her were that he hated her. He dropped the book that he was holding. It was meant to be for her, to make her feel better. No way was he going to let that book not get buried with her.

It felt like the room was moving in slow motion as her mother dropped to her knees and Henry broke down as well. Neal took his son's hand and hugged him, before going to follow Whale to see Emma. She was indeed dead, the monitors were off and she wasn't breathing. It was cliche, but it really did look like she was just sleeping. Her skin was still warm and colored, too.

He took her hand, squeezing it tightly, most of the words he had to say were implied as he did so, before he leaned closer to her and brushed her hair back. She didn't even look like anything had happened to her. Like she was just fine, only tired. "You better know I love you, Em. I actually kind of hate you for dying on me, though," he whispered, his voice wavering. If he was gonna cry, he better do it in front of the only person he was able to ever break down in front of. "Please just wake up. For me?" he begged but decided to just let her be in the end.

Then, he just sat. He sat for hours there, just sitting and holding her hand, the only warm part of her body at that point since he was keeping the blood flowing through it. After a while, he was done. There was nothing left to do. He needed to just let her go, leave the room and that would be the end of it. Let Henry see her and take him home. "I'll always love you, Emma. I can promise you that. I'm never gonna forget about you. I know that. I'll probably never find anyone I love quite as much as I love you," he whispered, brushing her hair off of her face and sitting himself up all the way. He leaned forwards one more time to kiss her head before leaving the room, letting the OR doors swing behind him as he left her and any feeling he had in the room.

He let Henry go see her, but he was back in seconds, and an entire team of nurses and doctors started flooding into the room. "She woke up, Dad! She woke up!" He said, pulling on his father's arm and grabbing the book off of the floor. "We should finish this," Henry said, knowing that it would touch his mother more than anyone else. She had issues believing that people loved her, even if it was her family. (Don't read; Insert sassy s5 Emma, "I don't have issues." casually leaning on door frame)

Neal wrote in the entire back of the book, the last one and a half pages covered in his handwriting, saying in great detail how much he loved her and how she had to be okay after this. He didn't plan on ever seeing her dead again. "Well, that was eventful. She's tired, but awake if you want to see her." Whale exclaimed in his tone that was really just Whale exclusive. "I don't recommend more than one person going in. Henry and Neal would be best. Oh, Neal. She was asking for you," he said, and Neal stood, taking the book that was almost completely full and leading Henry to the room Whale said she was in.

Neal smiled as they walked in, going to sit beside her bed. "Hey, sweetheart," he whispered, and she smiled back. "You okay? You kinda died there…" He said, and she giggled, nodding. He handed her the book that they had been working on. "Yeah, you probably can't see, actually," he said, smiling. She nodded, handing it back.

Henry stood to the side, letting his parents talk before Emma called him over to give her a hug. "You can read the book to me," she whispered, making it sound like she was offering him something when she really just wanted to listen to his voice. He shook his head, wanting to just sit with her and talk for a little bit.

After a while, Regina came in and got Henry, leaving Neal to sit with Emma. There were a few minutes where neither said anything until Emma broke the silence. "Can you come lay with me?" she asked, wanting to just cuddle up together without having to think about the reason that she was in the hospital, anyway. It was her fault since she wasn't forgiving him for something, but she did now. "Please?" she asked as he thought, making her feel bad about even asking, and making her want to just go and die in another accident.

The only thing he was thinking about was the fight that they had, and how he kinda really didn't want to get up there with her. This showed on his face. "I think I should go home." She thought for a second. That was a greater cause for argument than what they were actually upset about. She didn't want to spend the night alone in the hospital. That wasn't fair. She wouldn't ditch him if he was alone here.

Her lip wavered as he stood, walking out the door. It was like he was forgetting that he had lost her earlier, that she had been dead, and he had sat there and begged her to wake up. He didn't even care right now, though. He slid the door open slowly and left, closing it behind him. The tears gathered in her eyes when she thought of the last time she spent the night alone in the ER, in similar circumstances.

When he left her that time. It wasn't like she could stop him, she couldn't get up. Her whole body ached, she had a gigantic cut in her stomach from the glass on her mother's car. Luckily, it hadn't been the bug that she was driving, because that would've been catastrophic. It was funny, the one time she hadn't thought he was leaving her, he was. She expected him to want to stay and cuddle up next to her because she didn't feel good.

That's what he normally did. But, they never really fought this bad before. She closed her eyes before she heard the sliding door open, before she opened her eyes, as well. "Screw it. Tried, couldn't do it," Neal said, standing beside her. She laughed, moving over to make room for him to lay down next to her. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Are you still mad at me?" he asked, making her feel bad because his voice sounded too freaking guilty for her to stay mad at him.

She shook her head, leaning against his chest and closing her eyes, letting his arms envelop her and shield her from the cold, sterile hospital air. She sighed shakily, and he knew not to ask and instead just wrap his arms tightly around her and make her feel safe and protected. Hospitals weren't really her favorite place. There were memories from when she was a kid associated with hospitals, and they kind of made them feel like a danger zone for her, someplace to avoid at all costs.

He knew that, so for the next few hours, he held her, even once he knew that she was asleep. He didn't want her to wake up and have to wonder where he went. A few hours later she wakes up and her arms tighten around him. A sleepy smile spreads across her face as she becomes aware that Neal's still here; that he didn't go away. "Hey, Em," he whispers, smiling down at her.

Everyone had collected in the room overnight, despite Whale's advice to only have one or two people there at once. "Hey," she mumbles, letting go of him after a minute and sitting up, letting him wrap his arm around her shoulder. "Hey guys," she says, noticing that everyone is sitting and watching her.

There is absolute silence and stillness throughout the room for a second, before a very over-excited Henry comes barrelling past her parent's out of Regina's arms and over to Emma, throwing his arms around her. "Hey, buddy, you gotta be gentle. Your mom is still hurting from everything that happened last night," he says and Henry nods, looking over at him before giving Emma another hug, this one softer than the first.

Emma lets him sit her leg on the bed so that Neal could still sit with them as he showed her the book. "Well, crap. I'm crying now," she mumbles, wiping her eyes and reading the pages of the book with Henry. Once they finish reading all the messages, she smiles and looks up at everyone. "Thank you, guys," she says, receiving a chorus of 'you're welcomes' and 'of courses' from throughout the room.

Neal turns his head and kisses her temple, pulling her closer to him. Henry jumps off of her lap and goes to grab the container of ice cream that they were refunded because the other one melted and brought it over to his mom. "I thought you might like this," he says, handing it to her, "I know Dr. Whale said that you can only have soups and stuff, but maybe we could put it in the freezer when we get home, or we could go out to get some from Every Given Sundae when you're better," he suggests and Emma nods, leaning forwards and pulling him into a hug.

She then kisses him on the forehead and listens as he says something that he hasn't said since he almost died after his sleeping curse. "I love you, Mom." Her eyes tear up as she smiles, hugging him even tighter than before.

"I love you, too, kid."


	16. Seeing You Again

Emma nods, looking over at her mother, who continues trying to wrestle Neal into something presentable to wear to the cemetery. "Mom, he'll think that it's ridiculous. Let the kid wear his shorts," she fights, tying her hair back with a rubber band. Snow rolls her eyes, dropping the polo shirt in her hands as Neal runs over to Emma, holding his arms up so that she'll hold him.

They're going to see Neal today. Gold found some way to communicate with the deceased and they weren't going to put that to waste. So, Emma was going to take Henry and Neal to the cemetery and see him so that _little_ Neal could meet his namesake. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Snow asks, walking over and taking Emma's hand.

Emma nods, silently. Normally, she would've made some sort of snarky comment about how she's not four years old anymore and left, but today was a rough day for her and Henry every year and she wasn't in the mood for fighting. "We'll be fine. It's just Neal," she says as Henry comes jumping downstairs, his own little box in his hands so that he would be able to show his father the pictures of him and Violet and all his friends, assuming that Neal would ask about them.

Henry follows Emma out the door, going over to the bug and sitting in the backseat. Neal looks at them from his car seat. He's at the age when he's starting to understand why his sister and nephew get so sad sometimes and he's been starting to ask more questions, so who better to answer those questions than Neal Cassidy himself?

The ride to the cemetery is silent besides the sounds of Neal sitting in the backseat playing with his airplane and making the whooshing sound effects. "Okay, kiddo. We have a few rules first, okay? No running. You gotta talk softly, you don't wanna upset other people here. Be nice. And don't say anything about Vera. Got it?" Emma asks, going into the backseat and helping him out of his car seat. Neal nods in understanding, taking Emma's hand as they walk through the graveyard and to the headstone they were searching for.

Emma's eyes begin to tear up as the boy lets go of her hand and goes in front of the grave. "I know that name! That's it, right? 'Cause that's my name, too?" her brother asks, looking up at her and standing in front of the headstone, pointing at it. Emma nods, going in front of the grave with Neal. Henry pulls the boy back, putting his finger to his lips as Emma pours the potion over the headstone.

Neal watches in awe as the stone begins to glow in bluish-purplish colors and Neal appears slowly, at first looking pixelated, like a computer was having technical difficulties, but then he became clear and solid as if he was really there. Henry runs at him, wrapping his arms around his father after seeing him for the first time in almost five years. "Hey, buddy," he whispers. Little Neal watches from behind him with his big sister, looking absolutely terrified.

Emma holds his hand as he buries himself into her leg, holding her as if he was a koala hugging a tree. When Neal let's go of Henry, his eyes land on her. Henry turns around, laughing a little bit as he goes to pry his uncle off of his mother's leg. "Come. Here," he says, using all the strength he has to tug the little boy off of his mom.

Once she's free, she practically runs over to Neal, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What happened?" he asks when she leans back, looking her in the eye. She shakes her head, going to hug him again. When she does this time, she turns around, looking at Henry and her brother. He let's go of Henry and runs over to his big sister.

Neal watches them fondly, still not quite sure what's happening at the moment. "Is that your brother? Or did you have another kid?" he asks and Emma chuckles, looking over at him as her brother claws at her clothes until she picks him up. "Brother?" he asks and she nods, holding the boy as he buries his cheek into her chest.

Neal steps forwards, looking at the little boy. "Hey, buddy. I'm Neal. What's your name?" he asks, in an effort to engage in conversation with the little boy. He picks his head up, looking over at Neal and reaching his arm out, touching his face. He tries not to laugh as the little boy looks at him with confusion in his eyes.

Emma actually does laugh, taking her brother's hand off of Neal's face. "What did Mommy tell you, huh? No touching people unless they say it's okay," she says, looking over at the boy. Neal laughs, shaking his head at her. "He asked you a question. Can you answer it before you go invading people's space?" she asks, a hint of a laugh in her voice.

The boy nods, looking at the older man. "I'm Neal, too! I like ice cream!" he says loudly. Emma shakes her head, rolling her eyes and completely missing the expression of shock on her love's face. "My Mommy named me after you because you're a hero. She says you're a hero because you saved Henry and Emmy from the bad woman," he babbles on and on, playing with Emma's hair as Neal watches him in shock, completely honored that the king and queen decided to name their second child after him.

Emma smiles at him, setting him down, looking over to Henry. "Henry, how about you take him to go and put some flowers on your grandfather's grave. See if you can get in," she suggests, sending her brother over to her son. Henry nods, understanding that his parents might need a few minutes after not having seen each other in such a long time.

Emma turns around to look back at Neal after they're both gone. "They named their kid after me," he mumbles in shock. Emma nods, going to hug him once more, closing her eyes and burying her nose into his neck. When she pulls away, tears are flowing freely from her eyes.

"Hey," he whispers, wiping her tears away. "I'm okay. I'm okay here," he whispers, pulling her back into his arms. "I missed you so much," he mumbles, both of them crying at this point, neither of them able to find any reason not to. It's not like they're gonna judge each other because that would be hypocritical.

They just hold onto each other, crying, for a few minutes until he stops and she does the same shortly after. "Do you know how to bring you back? For good, this time?" she asks, but he shakes his head. He shakes his head, leaning back and kissing her forehead. "That's okay. We'll figure it out," she assures, taking his hand.

Henry walks back with little Neal then and it's right at that moment that she seeing him beginning to fade away. "Bye, dad," "Bye, Neal," "Bye-bye!" They all say at the same time. Neal smiles at them, kissing Emma once more before fading away in her arms. "I'm gonna get him back, don't worry, kid," she says, pulling Henry to her while Neal sits on her hip.


	17. My Happy Ending

Emma takes a deep breath as her eyes close, never to open again. "No, Emma," Snow sobs, holding her daughter's limp body against her chest. David's crying as well, something that he only saves for the occasions when he'll really need to.

Henry stands in his adoptive mother's arms, attempting to break free as much as Emma was when he fell through the portal. "No! Mom, don't leave me! You promised me! You're a liar! You liar! You can't leave me like Dad did! You promised!" he yells at her, sending waves of sound over to where Neal's standing about a half-mile away.

His whole body stiffens at the sound of his son's screaming and he breaks into a run, going in the direction the sound is coming from. "Henry?" he yells, running until he reaches a small clearing. He stops abruptly at the sight he sees. Emma's body being held against her mother's chest, her father trying to comfort her so she'll let go, and Henry a few feet away and having to be physically restrained by Regina.

Henry doesn't even notice his father standing over there. He instead just drops to the floor sobbing. "I want my Dad, I want my Dad," he cries and Regina looks up to Neal. He walks over to Henry, kneeling down beside him on the ground and wrapping his arms around him. Henry wraps his arms around him, despite not knowing who it is.

Neal holds onto him tightly, hoping that Henry never feels the way he just did ever again. The feeling of knowing that both your parents have left you, that they'll never come back. "Neal?" Snow asks, having turned around to look over there. Henry then lets go of him, looking up to see if it is, in fact, his father.

It takes a second to register in Henry's mind that his father's right there; that he didn't leave and then he throws himself at him, throwing his arms around his neck in a true Emma-like fashion. "I'm here, buddy," he whispers, just before pulling back and staring at the lifeless body of his love in Snow's arms.

He puts a hand on Henry's shoulder before walking over to her, looking at Snow. "Can I have her for a minute?" he asks, looking Snow in the eye as he asks, his heartbreaking while he remembers all the times that Emma was alone and wanted this so badly- all the times that she didn't think that her parents loved her. Now, here she was, getting what she wanted. The only issue was that she couldn't enjoy it.

Snow reluctantly passes Emma over to him and David takes his wife into his arms, holding on as tightly as he can while Neal takes care of Emma. He rests her head in the crook of his arm, feeling if her pulse is there. He has a hunch, one that says that she's not actually dead. He waits for a second, but then he feels something. It's barely there, so soft that nobody else probably would've found it.

His eyes light up and he finds himself lowering her to the dirt in the clearing in the middle of the jungle in Neverland. Sure, it's not the ideal place to be taking care of a stabbing victim, but it'll have to do at this time. He reaches down and takes his shirt off, thankful that he has a tank top on under it and uses the shirt to pack the wound before he works on waking her up.

He then goes over to her chest, pressing his hands into the center of her chest, pressing as hard as he can, starting to get a rhythm going. He does this, all the while Snow's trying to escape David's hold and Hook is trying to question him. "28, 29, 30," he mumbles before stopping and reaching down to do the breaths. He does the first one and nothing happens, but during the second breath, he hears her gasp for air and ends up coughing up more blood.

He helps her sit up, holding her in the crook of his arm and closing his eyes as he tries to steady his own breathing. "Neal?" she asks, panting as she tries to sit up. He holds her down as well as he can while being gentle with her like she's fragile. He nods, smiling at her and holding her closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder. "What're you-" she's interrupted by a loud coughing fit that wracks her whole body.

He brushes the hair off of her forehead, helping her sit up a little more in hopes that it'll help her breathe. "Shhh, don't talk. I'm right here, I'm not dead. You're gonna be fine, Em. I promise," he assures, holding her as close to him as he can. His hand goes to her stomach to press on the shirt that he's pressed into the cut and she hisses. He reaches over and starts to rub her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry," he whispers, leaning over and kissing her temple.

She nods, taking his other hand and pulling it down so she can hold it comfortably. "Em, I need you to take deep breaths for me, okay? We're gonna figure out how to save you, just hold on," he whispers to her. Rumple walks over to her, kneeling down beside her. Tears in his eyes and his hands trembling, he reaches out and takes her hand, bloody and cold. "Papa… Can you save her?" Neal asks, looking up at Rumple with hope in his eyes- something that his father clearly lacks.

Rumple nods, looking over at him. "I can. But, alas, doing so, would result in a price. One that I would have to pay. I would take this away from Emma, but doing so would inflict it upon myself," he says and Neal sighs, looking over at Regina. He's about to ask her if she can do it, but Rumple puts his hand over Neal's on Emma's stomach. "That doesn't mean 'no'. If saving her would make you happy, then I will do it," he says, looking into Neal's eyes.

Neal looks down at his love; in so much pain, hurting so greatly. Then, he looks up at his father; all powerful and completely fine. He switches the scenarios. He imagines what will happen when his father is dying in his arms instead of Emma. She'll then go and try to save him. It'll go on and on and on until one of them is dead. But, she doesn't deserve this. Then again, he is his papa.

Neal shakes his head, reaching over and placing his hand on his papa's before looking up at Regina. "Can you?" he asks. Regina nods, getting down on the ground beside Rumple, who shakes his head and pushes his ex-apprentice out of the way. "Wha- Papa-" Neal says, but it's too late. Rumple's hand is already removing the shirt from Emma's side and placing itself over the gash.

There's a large beam of light before Neal's sight is regained. He looks down at Emma, only to find the wound bleeding freely now, blood spreading and soaking her shirt. Her eyes are open wide, not quite understanding what happened, either. He looks up at his father. "I'm so sorry, Bae. I can't. I want to, but I can't. It's impossible. She has light magic, so what saves her must be light magic, as well. I tried, Bae. I truly did," he says, looking into Emma's eyes and offering her hand a tight squeeze before standing and going away.

Neal looks down at Emma, tears pouring from his eyes at a rate that they never have before. She reaches up and touches his cheek, looking into his eyes. "It's okay. Maybe I'll go someplace where it doesn't hurt anymore," she whispers, looking into his eyes. She lets out a short cough, no blood coming out this time. "Just… you were happy, right? I made you happy?" she asks, her eyes squinting.

He nods, a sob escaping his lips as he pulls her up closer to him. She smiles up at him, her eyes closing softly as he squeezes her tighter. "That's all I needed to know," she whispers, relaxing a little bit into his arms, but tensing up as it sends a sharp pain through her stomach when the muscles relax. "I forgive you," she whispers, leaning into his chest as he holds her as tight as he can. "I'm sorry it took so long," she mumbles, beginning to cough again.

Neal nods, smiling softly as the sobs continue to escape from his mouth; his whole body is a big mix of emotions right now. "It's alright," he chuckles, holding her tightly. "I love you," he whispers, leaning down to her ear so that he's not embarrassed in front of her parent's if she doesn't say it back.

She smiles at him, squeezing his hand that's still holding her's. "I love you, too, Neal," she whispers, the last word coming out as an exhale as her eyes close and her whole body relaxes. Neal looks up at everyone with wide eyes, tears beginning to fall from his eyes once again and his whole body wracks with sobs as he clutches her tighter, knowing there's no reason to be afraid of hurting her anymore.

After everyone has said their goodbye's, her body still tightly secured in his arms, people begin to leave. Once the clearing is empty of everyone but the two of them, he lays her body flat down on the forest floor and brushes her hair back one last time. Everyone decided that it would be best to bury her here instead of Storybrooke, instead, having a reception there, but they left him to say goodbye before they would return to do so.

He leans forwards after her face is clear of all stray hairs, his eyes closing as another tear falls down them. "You were my happy ending," he whispers, his chin wavering before he lets out another sob, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead for the last time he ever would; his last 'I love you.' Before his lips touch her, he pauses just above her forehead and closes his eyes again. "Goodbye, Em," he whispers, lowering his head the extra inch and kissing her forehead.

A ring of light, one much like the one when Gold tried to save her, shoots out from where they are. A gasp, one that isn't coming from him, is heard and he looks down at Emma's body as she sits up, the wound was gone, only the blood soaking her clothes remaining. "Neal!" she cries out in delight, getting on her knees and throwing her arms around him. _Finally, a proper reunion._

He throws his arms around her, not at all scared of how she's back, or why she's back because he knows the reason. _True love is the most powerful magic of all._


	18. The Heat

**Based off of real life events- Summer isn't fun when it's too hot outside, let alone _inside._ Enjoy!**

Henry wipes the sweat off of his forehead, putting another lego block on top of the previous one as he hears his daddy end on the phone in the other room with the AC guy. "Hey, he can't come 'til eight-thirty tomorrow," he says and Emma nods, looking down at the ground and sighing. "You guys wanna go get some ice cream from the store?" he asks, talking to Emma, who doesn't really say anything, just lets out a short grunt and stares at the floor some more.

Even though Henry knows the question isn't for him, he still jumps up, putting down his next lego and running over to his dad. "Yeah, Daddy! Can we, Mama? Can we, can we, can we?" he asks, his voice high pitched and squeaky as he pulls on his dad's shirt while looking over at his mom.

Emma nods from her spot on the floor, getting up easily and walking over as Neal picks up their overheating seven-year-old and carries him out to the car, carrying the boy's shirt to the car with him just in his shorts.

Their AC went out earlier in the day, so they all had to do everything they could to keep cool in the 96-degree heat in Tallahassee, where it was more humid than any place either of Henry's parent's had ever been to before. They had all shoved bags of water into their freezer to put on the blanket in Emma and Neal's room, where their whole little family would be residing for the night. They were also taking turns standing in front of the little black fans running through the house because it was so hot inside.

Emma drives as fast as she can (without speeding) to the grocery store where she knows there will be freezers and ice cream, but mostly air conditioning. When they get there, Henry unbuckles himself from the car seat and opens the door the second that Emma puts the brake on.

Neal takes his hand and then takes Emma's hand as well, walking into the store and Henry lets go of Neal's hand and runs to the freezer aisle. It only takes a second for him to remember that the freezers are cold and opens a random door, sticking his head inside of it. "Henry, buddy-" Neal starts, but Emma puts her hand on his arm, which tells him to stop.

The boy has been sweating uncontrollably since he came home from his friend's house after school. For a little while, he was complaining, saying that he felt like he did whenever he was sick.

Emma figured that the heat was a little too much for the boy, so she let him curl up on the couch next to her and rest his head on her leg while she brushed his hair back and he watched something on Disney Channel.

It had gotten a little bit better when Neal came into the room with a can of whipped cream from the fridge and a popsicle, letting Henry eat the latter while he held the can on his neck in hopes of getting a little bit cooler and he actually gained the energy to go and sit in his bedroom with his lego's with his mom while Neal called the air conditioning company.

Emma looks over at Neal and puts her head on his shoulder. "Let him do it," she says, watching as their son stands with the side of his head against the glass of the door, closing his eyes as the breeze hits his little body. "It's been too hot for him in the house. He needs to cool down," she says, watching Henry as he lets go of the freezer and goes to sit on the little ledge keeping all the food in.

Emma smiles at him, watching as he sighs, his eyes closing lightly as he feels the cold on his back. "Is that better, buddy?" Neal asks, walking over to their son with Emma's hand in his own. Henry shrugs, looking up at his dad. "Whaddya mean 'kinda'? It's not better than at home?" he asks, going to stand in front of the little boy. If anyone walked into the aisle, they would be concerned that something bad was happening, but Neal didn't care right then.

Henry nods, looking up at his parents, who both look concerned to a whole new level. "It's colder, but I still don't feel good," he says, his eyes tearing up and Emma lets go of Neal's hand, walking over to Henry and picking him up. He wraps his arms around her neck while he cries and she puts her hand on the back of his head.

Emma looks over at Neal, who smiles sadly and walks over to them, putting a hand on Henry's back. "I know, kid. I don't feel good either," she says, holding him tightly until he stops crying. "How about you go and pick up some ice cream and we can watch a movie when we get home?" Emma says, but Henry shakes his head and clings back onto her.

"I don't wanna go back," he cries and Emma nods, sympathizing for the kid on a great level. "It makes me not feel good. I don't wanna," he says and Emma nods, leaning back as he loosens his grip on her neck. Emma looks at Neal, practically begging to go to a hotel for the night with just the look in her eyes.

Neal sighs, rubbing his hand across his face and shaking his head. "We can't, Em. If we take him away, he'll think it's okay every time that he wants to do something, he'll think we'll do it," he says, looking over at her. She sighs and looks over at him, her eye watering up as she holds onto Henry, who continues to cry into her neck.

He walks over to them, rubbing her back and pulling them in for a hug. Emma leans into his arms as she tries to comfort a crying Henry. "Hey, buddy. How about you go and pick some ice cream?" Neal says and Henry instantly cheers up and Emma puts him down so he can go grab a tub of ice cream for them to take home.

Henry points to the top one, a cherry vanilla one, and Neal picks him up so he can get it down himself. Henry runs over to Emma and walks over to the cash registers with both of his parents right behind him. Neal whips out his credit card and pays for the ice cream. Henry carries it out to the car, holding it the whole car ride home.

When they get there, they eat the ice cream and watch a movie, none of them getting into bed before midnight. When they do go to bed, Henry states that he wants to sleep in his bed like a big boy, so they let him, bringing in a few bags of ice for him and tucking him in before going to bed themselves.

They lay in bed, Emma cuddled up into Neal's side even though it's 94 degrees and humid in their house and closes her eyes. "I think we made it," he mumbles, kissing her temple.

She turns her head and looks up at him like he's crazy. "Our AC is broken," she says, raising an eyebrow at him and he shakes his head.

He pulls her tighter into his arms before relaxing a little bit. "But, we're happy, aren't we?" he says, closing his eyes and smiling.

She nods, closing her eyes as well before falling asleep just a few minutes later, not caring if she'll wake up sweaty and gross from cuddling up beside him on the bed.


	19. We'll Stay

Killian didn't let her see them. Emma hadn't seen Neal or August in more months than she can count. She didn't tell them to stop talking to her and Killian didn't say he didn't want her to see them, but something told her that they both knew that he didn't want her seeing either of them, mostly because he was a jealous, terrible, overprotective boyfriend.

So, when she has to get off of her comfortable position, curled up and crying on the couch to answer the door at midnight, she's concerned as to who it could be until she finds her two idiot best friends standing there with a teddy bear and chocolates asking if they could come in. "Why are you still up?" she asks both of them. She kind of wonders why Lily isn't joining them in their mission but realizes that it's probably because Lily still has common sense.

They shrug as she opens the door wider, welcoming them into her pitch-black and deafeningly silent house. "We gonna wake up the kid?" August asks, but Emma shakes her head, looking in between the two of them before looking back at the ground, taking a sudden interest in the floorboards when she realizes the very fact that they have totally moved on from having her in their little friendship group, which she only realizes because Neal's not making any jokes and August is actually _asking_ if they'll wake Henry up instead of being yelled at to shut up.

She can feel their eyes on her as they stand by the entrance to her house. She doesn't want to look up. She doesn't want to admit that her eyes are filling with tears as she's realizing that she doesn't have _anybody_ anymore. Her parents have their kid to take care of, so they don't have time for her. August, Neal, and Lily have already moved on without her and probably have replaced her with someone else. Killian's dead. Henry wants to spend every night at Regina's now because he doesn't feel welcome in her house after everything Killian said to him.

She's all alone now. Again. "You okay?" August asks, probably because that's the thing you do when someone just lost their boyfriend. Whether or not that boyfriend was a complete jerk to you has nothing to do with it.

There are two things she can do now. She can put her walls up and say that she's fine and ask them to leave, or she can say no and let them take care of her for once in her life. For once in her life, she can let someone else take care of her. For once in her life, she shakes her head and Neal's there. He steps forwards and takes her into his arms as she begins to break down again.

Part of her can't tell if it's because she's terrified, sad, or happy. She just knows that she's clinging to him like he's the only thing keeping her from disappearing and she's sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she cries and he shakes his head, holding her tighter than before, holding her as close as he can without hurting her.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know," he reassures, holding her and whispering into her ear, most of it is just gibberish, hoping that it'll make it feel better like it used to. He sways back and forth slowly calmingly, waiting for her to finish crying to let go. She pulls away and wipes her eyes, tugging her thin sweater around her tighter. "You better now?" he asks, smiling softly. Emma nods, looking up at them.

August scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, catching Emma's attention as he looks to Neal. "Well, we just wanted to bring those by and… yeah. We'll let you be now," he says, walking back over to the door, Neal following closely behind him as August opens it and begins to walk out.

 _Oh my God, I really am losing them. Can I fix it? I can fix it. It can't be too bad. Maybe they want to stay._ "Guys, wait!" she calls out from her spot in the living room, putting the things they brought over on a table by the door before following them out of the room.

They both turn around as soon as she calls out, watching as she walks outside the house. "I… Do you wanna stay for a little while? Henry's not home, so maybe we could do something?" she asks, tears forming in her eyes once again, apparently out of nowhere; maybe somewhere inside her, she's afraid they'll say no. "Like… Anything?" she asks, pulling the sweater back closer to her.

One of them must've seen something in her eyes, because they both immediately walk back up the pathway to the house, going up the steps to the porch and giving her hugs one at a time before going back inside. She closes the door when she goes back in, looking at them, only to find that August was already in the kitchen and pouring out a glass of strawberry juice for him and Neal. "Save some of that for Henry, okay?" she asks, taking a glass of it that he passed to her.

August nods, closing the lid on the juice and taking it over to the fridge, putting it away. "How is the kid, anyway? I haven't seen him since I was made into little Pinocchio again," he says and Emma sighs. Neal looks up at her in curiosity as to what she might say about their son. He knows that he's been sleeping at Regina's ever since Killian died, but he doesn't know how they're doing in their whole mother-son relationship.

She takes a big sip of juice and sighs. "He's mad at me, I think. Hook was mean to him, called him names. I just wish I would've been a little bit more understanding about that instead of letting it happen," she says and August nods along with Neal.

She thinks for a second before getting a smirk on her face, but not a Hook-Emma smirk, but a scary-Emma smirk that shows that she's about to give them a very, very bad idea. "Wanna play the Wii?" she asks and both their eyes light up as she walks back into the other room, taking out the remotes from the drawer.

And that's how three best friends ended up staying up until 5:30 in the morning playing the Wii until the batteries died on one of the remotes and they were forced to have a conversation before passing out half on top of each other.


	20. Birthday Wishes

Emma told everybody that she didn't want anything for her birthday. Henry and her parents both asked, but she denied them both, saying that there wasn't anything that she wanted. Henry knew for a fact that there was something she wanted, she just couldn't ask for it because she knew that it was impossible. Or, she thought she knew.

Henry, however, figured something out. If you try hard enough, anything is possible. He called a family meeting while Emma was at the grocery store. He had everyone gathered in the living room of the loft. "We're gonna find a way to bring my Dad back," he tells everyone.

Gold begins to object, but Henry puts a finger up, shushing the old man like never before. "Nope. None of that, we'll find a way. She's sad all the time, I want my Mom back. We'll go as far as certain death. I lost my Dad, I'm not losing my Mom," he says, making everyone sigh, knowing there's nothing they can do to change his mind.

He looks around the group, getting into his 'we have a new operation' mode. "From now until her birthday, we are on lockdown people. All the spell books we can find, all of the potions we can mix. We will do anything and everything to get him back. So, what's the operation name?" He asks, passing around a notebook for everyone to either add a name or put a check by the one they liked most.

They all settled on Operation Libra like Gold suggested because that was Emma's zodiac sign and that was how long they had to work. "Now, when can you guys meet up to check the progress?" Henry asks, just as everyone starts to think the meeting will be over soon. David lets out a very audible sigh and makes Snow elbow him in the ribs. He passes around the paper again, letting everyone check off the weekdays, then adding everyone into a group chat named the operation name.

They decided to meet up every Monday and Friday, just so that they would be able to check and see who's mixed what and read what and what they found out.

About two days before Emma's birthday, Henry realizes the time crunch they're in, and he groups everyone together, lying to Emma and saying that everyone's spending the night at Regina's because they have a project for school to help him with on the Enchanted Forest. They do not.

After a few hours of everyone reading everything and being whacked out on coffee, Henry finally finds something. "We have to drop tears of true love on his grave," he whispers, before repeating it loudly to everyone. They all crowd around and Gold nods, looking at the boy. Henry leaves the house, going back home to try to get Emma to cry so he can get her tears for the spell to work.

He opens the door, only to find that she's sitting cross legged on the couch, a ton of pictures spread out around her, and tears streaming in a steady pattern down her cheeks. "Mom?" Henry asks, sad that his mother is upset, but happy that he'll be able to make her feel better really soon. He walks over, moving some of the pictures over and sitting beside her. He realizes that they're all of her and his father.

He wraps his arms around his mother, holding onto her for a moment before getting a tissue and wiping the tears off her face. He puts them in the Ziploc bag he has opened in his pocket. "Why are you putting those there?" She asks, chuckling a little bit. He shakes his head, telling her that he'll throw them away later. She nods, leaning into Henry's arms. "Why did you come home?" She asks, and he realizes that he didn't have a cover for that.

Henry thinks for a second, pretending he didn't hear her. When she prompts him to tell her, he thinks of an idea. "I forgot the jacket I meant to grab when I was getting my stuff," he tells her, and she nods, looking over at him. He goes upstairs to grab it before going back to hug his mother. "See you later, love you," he tells her, kissing her cheek and closing the door behind him on his way out.

Once he gets back to Regina's house, they all walk over to Neal's grave, ringing out the tears onto the grass over where his casket is underground. They all wait for it to soak into the soil, and the ring of light signifying that true love's whatever it's called right now has been enacted. Neal appears behind the headstone that disappears. "Dad!" Henry yells before running over to hug his father. "I missed you," he whispers. He's almost as tall as his father now, just a few inches between them.

Neal wraps his arms tightly around his son, never wanting to let go of him again. Henry leans back from his father, stepping to his side so everyone else could greet Neal. Once they're walking home, Neal pulls Henry aside. "Hey, where's your mom? How is she?" He asks, putting his arm around Henry's shoulders and patting his back.

Henry looks at the ground, wondering exactly how to phrase it so his Dad wouldn't freak out. "She's okay, I guess. She's not really ever happy since you died. She's at home. Her birthday's today, so I guess you're kinda like her present," he explains, looking up to see his father's reaction. He just smiled sadly and kept walking, knowing that he needed to hurry up and get back to Emma before she started to think she was spending the day alone for nothing.

In Neal's opinion, she kind of was. For all he knew, she could be upset because of something completely different, and he was just coming back to upset her even more. "Dad, she's gonna be happy, I promise," Henry tells his father, looking up at him once again. Neal just nods, not knowing what else to say, since he didn't exactly believe his son.

They reach the door to the apartment, and Neal finds himself shaking with nerves. "Neal, she's missed you ever since you died. She loves you, get in there and let her know that you're here for her," David says, patting his shoulder, going around him to open the door and walk inside, just like nothing happened.

Neal takes a deep breath and follows after his son into the loft. "Mom, I have a surprise for you," he tells her before his father walks in. Emma looks up from all of the pictures that she has spread around her and looks at her son in question. Behind him, his father walks in, smiling sadly at her as he sees her tear stained cheeks and the amount of tissues at her side.

She opens her mouth in shock, just staring at him for a moment before she puts the pictures in her lap to the side and runs over to him, knocking over a cup of water on the coffee table in the process, and for once, she found that she didn't even care that she made a mess. She throws her arms around his neck, letting out what definitely wasn't the first sob today.

His arms went around her instinctively, holding her there. Normally, she would've tried to keep herself together in front of her parents, her brother, and Henry. She did today, too, but she was already breaking before Neal appeared and now he did. This was one of the few times that she didn't feel like it was her fault. She had been looking at pictures, ones of when she was actually happy, and she had spent most of the day alone so far, and it wasn't really something they could blame her for.

Nobody did, either. Nobody yelled at her when she broke down sobbing, only being held up from falling to the floor by Neal's arms around her. Emma holds onto him for dear life, not holding herself up. Neal eventually starts silently crying as well, knowing how sad she's been since he left, how it was his fault and the overwhelming feeling of having her in his arms. He lets them both fall to the floor, just holding onto each other.

Even Regina is awing over how cute they are. Maybe not cute, but just how sweet and how obvious it is that they needed each other the whole time that he was gone. After a few minutes of both of them sitting crying to each other on the floor, David steps in, thinking it would be a good idea to get Emma away from him so that they could both calm down.

Bad idea. Very bad idea.

The minute that he touches Emma, she tenses, but once he starts trying to pick her up and pull her away, both of them jump into a fit of screeches and cries. "Neal," Emma sobs, trying to fight her Dad's hold. Neal gets onto his knees and pulls her away from David and back to himself. She collapses back up into his arms, breaking down even more against him, this time with that last incident piled onto everything else.

Neal glares at David, keeping his arms wrapped around her tightly. He rubs her back in slow circles, hoping that it's calming for her instead of bothersome. "I got ya," he whispers, holding her as close to his chest as he can. She clutches him tighter and sobs harder as David begins trying to apologize to them.

After a little while, Emma calms down and Neal stops crying altogether, but they stay sitting on the ground, still holding onto each other with everything that's in them. "Hey, how about you two come and sit on the couch. I promise no one's trying to separate you, I just think it may be more comfortable," Snow suggests and Emma nods, getting off of Neal so that they can walk over to the couch.

They start going through the pictures together, finding some of them that Neal wanted to have. Emma gives them to him, noticing that he doesn't have any pictures and she has all of them and the least she could do is share. "Dinner time, guys!" Snow calls from the kitchen, putting tubs of Emma's favorite meal things on the table and letting everyone dig into them.

Right after dinner, they do desert, which is exactly what it should be; a birthday cake. Emma looks a tad overwhelmed as her mother places the cake with lit candles in front of her when everyone's singing and Snow notices. "Emma, what's wrong?" she asks after everyone's done singing the birthday song.

Emma shakes her head, a little bit frazzled. She blows out the candles on it and everyone cheers. Neal gives her a big kiss on the cheek, which makes her smile. Her mother doesn't take the cake or hand anyone the knife, though. She just stands and waits for Emma to tell her what's going on.

"Mom, it's fine, really," Emma says, but Neal puts a hand on her back and everyone raises an eyebrow at her, which makes her even more nervous than before. "Just… this is a much… bigger birthday than I've ever had before and it's a little bit… overwhelming. That's all," she says and everyone is suddenly hit with pity for the woman in front of them.

This isn't that much for a birthday, really. Spending the day alone, being reunited with your love, and having a family dinner are all things that could happen on a daily basis, so to say that this is more than she's had before is saddening. She can see that everyone looks like they feel bad and that wasn't her intention.

"I mean… Birthday's aren't a big deal in the system and mine have normally sucked pretty bad, like… It's usually just a reminder that 'today was the day I was abandoned' for me, so it's never really happy and I can't imagine it is for you guys either, I mean, today is the day you were ripped away from your home and families. That can't be an easy day to celebrate on," she says and everyone begins to feel the sadness for her growing in the pit of their stomachs. "I'm glad we are, really, but it's just different, is all. It's not bad, it's good. I like it," she says and everyone nods sorrowfully before Snow goes to cut the cake and David goes with her.

The dessert is eaten in silence, which leaves Emma wondering if she's done something wrong or said something bad. "Did I do something?" she asks about halfway through, seeing that everyone is silent and refusing to make eye contact with one and other. "'Cause I didn't mean to," she says, watching as everyone looks up at her, afraid that she's upset or something, but realizes that she isn't when they see that there aren't tears in her eyes.

Snow shakes her head, reaching across the table to take Emma's hand and holding it while she speaks. "No, honey. Just… It's sad for everyone here to know that you never really had a good birthday and it makes us wonder how we could make the ones after this one so much better," she says and everyone agrees with her.

Emma shakes her head, looking around at everybody confusedly. She lets her hand stay in her mother's. "Oh, guys… This one has been great. Neal came back and I got to have dinner with you all, and…. There's even a real cake, I mean… Cake! I've never really had one of those before. I… This one's perfect. Thank you," she says and everyone begins to tear up, especially Neal, who started to cry the second she said that him coming back made it good, which was one of the things he was insecure about.

She looks over and sees Neal tearing up and hugs him, smiling from ear to ear as everyone begins to eat again, laughing and talking. Emma looks over at him, kissing him on the cheek before leaning over to him and whispering "I love you. Thank you for coming back to me," in his ear.


	21. Mind-Reader

He wishes he wasn't able to do it. It's too hard to be able to read people's minds. He hears things about himself and knows things about other people that he really wishes he doesn't, but he doesn't know what to do about it.

Besides, he would be fine if he was just able to do a few, but there's one person in particular that he can hardly stand to go near, because he can see how they really feel about him, but mostly because her thoughts are always either in a jumble, or just too freaking _sad._ This is a problem because he really needs to be around this person on a daily basis.

Emma Swan.

It's also a problem because of the teensy-tiny detail that he's kinda in love with her. (It's a minor detail, really).

Then, there's the day when it all comes apart. Sure, there's been the times where she's sent him from the diner to break down sobbing in his hotel room. There have been the times where he's wanted to reach across the table at family dinners and just take her hand to make her feel better. There have been the times where he's passed her walking and heard the lyrics to their favorite songs playing in her mind. But nothing could've ever, ever prepared him for this one.

He wakes up in the morning, throwing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on to go downstairs and grab a coffee at Granny's when he catches Emma sitting alone at a booth. He's not close enough to hear anything, but he has a feeling it's something he'd be better off not hearing. He knows right now is a tough time for her because her brother was born just a few days ago and it's a little more than obvious that her parents are obsessed with him.

Still, he can't resist. So, hearing the overlapping thoughts of everyone in the diner (including someone who has some _major_ ADD), he begins to walk in the direction to go around her table, which is actually completely out of the way from the route back to his table if he doesn't want her to see him. He's expecting to hear something like what he's heard before, but this is completely unlike it.

Because he's so far away still and everyone has something on their minds, it's quiet, but it's undoubtedly Emma's voice- or thought voice. _Why doesn't anyone want me yet?_ Again, it's faint, but definitely her voice. He's heard it too often to not recognize it. So, instead of walking right past her and back to his room, he goes over to her spot in 'her booth' and he envelops her in a bone-crushing hug.

It would sure be interesting if she didn't know that he could do this, but she thankfully did, which is why she had a gut feeling that he heard her the second he came over and tried to squeeze the life out of her.

Instead of coming up with a sarcastic remark like she normally would do, or a witty comeback, or just telling him to go away, she did what he never thought Emma Swan was capable of. She broke down sobbing the second he whispered, "I do," in her ear. He takes her out right then, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he leads a breaking Emma back upstairs to his room with him.

The door swings open and closes with a bang, making Emma jump and quiet down for a second, only to continue sobbing. This is one of the jumbled-up moments when he can't really make out much, only a few different things every few seconds.

 _My parents- Henry- that little stupid kid- Neal-_ and also, the lasting thought, _please don't go…_ is what seems to be fueling this after a few minutes. Once he realizes that unless he actually takes the thought off her mind, it won't go away, he picks her up and lays her down on the bed.

For the life of him, he cannot understand what she could've been doing at Granny's on the Open Early day at 5 a.m, but he can think of two things that might've woken her up. Number one; screaming baby. Number two; nightmare/thoughts. Either way, he can still see in her eyes that she's just plain exhausted.

After she's laid down on the bed, he goes over to his dresser and finds the old comfy shirt she used to wear to bed and pulls out a pair of sweatpants that he had meant to throw away years ago when he got taller as he got older and they got too short.

He walks over to her side on the bed, setting the clothes down on the chair. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispers, pulling her up and onto his lap, having changed his mind about sleep for a good few minutes. _Yeah, you better not._ He laughs a little bit at this, just before she begins to calm down.

She snuggles up into his chest, knowing that if she did so, he would tighten his arms around her. _Comfy._ The same smaller voice that he heard when she was alone in the booth earlier- one that reminds him of a child.

As he makes this connection, he remembers the reason he believes she's up at 5 a.m. "I have some clothes for you. You need to sleep, you're exhausted," he whispers, looking down at her. She nods, standing up. He hands her the clothes, letting her go into the bathroom to change. "I'll be right here," he tells her when she turns around to make sure he's still there.

She's out of the bathroom within minutes, her clothes in hand. He takes them and puts them on the same chair, ready and waiting for her to wear them in a few hours after she wakes up. After she's completely passed out, practically on top of him, he takes his phone off the nightstand and as best he can with one hand, he texts David. _I have your daughter here. She's asleep. I'll bring her home tomorrow. She just needs a good night's sleep. I'll take care of her for you, just focus on your wife and baby._

The last part wasn't meant to be passive aggressive _at all._


	22. The Things We Have

**I really think I like how this one came out. It didn't exactly go along with the writing prompt I had set because this one is a little bit more of FireBeliever than the whole little Swanfire Family (and Regina), but it's actually one that I might do a sequel-ish chapter to! Send a review if you want to see what happens after this for this little story!**

Emma pulls into the place that August told her to go to meet them. The second her eyes land on him, she tears up but ends up wiping them away. She gets out of her car, slamming the door and walking over to them. The first thing she does is wrap her arms around Neal. Then, she turns to August and socks him in the jaw.

Neal's eyes widen as he tries to pull her off of him, knowing that the last thing Emma needs is prison charges for assault. She continues to struggle against his hold until Neal goes in front of her and wraps his arms around her. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay," he whispers, placing his hand on the back of her head and cradling it.

August had explained everything related to Neal's disappearance to her prior to them meeting, saying that he didn't want Neal to have to explain something that wasn't his fault to her. After a few minutes of just enjoying being together, they decide to go inside of the coffee shop instead of just standing outside. "We have a kid," she tells him as they sit down, figuring that it'd be a great conversation starter and she would have to tell him eventually.

Neal just stares at her with a blank look in his eyes, a grim expression on his face. "His name is Henry. He lives in Maine with his adoptive mother," she says and sees tears beginning to form in Neal's eyes. She reaches across the table and takes his hands, moving her drink out of the way so she doesn't knock it over.

She squeezes his hands, leaning over the table so that she can see his face. "Please don't cry, it's okay," she cooes, sending a glare in August's direction. She wants to tell him that she hates him and use many swear words to make sure he understands just how much but she doesn't want Neal to think that she's actually talking to him, so she doesn't.

He looks up at her, wiping the tears from his eyes and putting his face in his hand. "I see him sometimes. I go up there once a month for a few days. You could come with me next time. I have to ask Regina, but I'm sure she'll say yes. She loves him, Neal. She takes care of him and she's great to me. She says I can take him back anytime, so it's kinda like she's just watching him for me for a little while," Emma explains, trying to make him feel better.

He nods, looking over at the wall and shaking his head in disbelief. "You didn't tell me," he says, looking over at August and the other man shakes his head, shrugging.

"I didn't know."

Neal sighs and puts his head down on the table, his forehead resting on his arm. Emma looks over to August and glares at him. "Get out of here," she says and the man gets up, walking out of the shop and leaving Emma and Neal alone. She stands up, going to sit beside Neal in August's place. She wraps her arms around him and rests her cheek on his back, waiting for him to stop shaking.

She looks over at the clock, sighing and sitting up. She takes his hand, having him sit up as well. "I was gonna go to Regina's like, literally right after this. Is it okay if I go and call her and then if she's okay with you coming we can stop by whenever you're living and get your stuff before we go?" she asks and Neal nods. Emma smiles, kissing his cheek before getting up and going to go and call her.

She's gone for a few minutes before she comes back to the table and looks over at him, smiling and reaching across the table to get her coffee. "She said yes. She's really excited to meet you, so come on," she says, taking his hand and they walk out of the building together. "Are you coming with me, or do you have a car someplace around here?" she asks.

Neal chuckles and looks up at her, smiling as he walks over to the bug with her. "No, August picked me up at my apartment to save gas," he says and Emma smiles, handing him the keys to the car. "Wha-?" he asks before she cuts him off, looking over at the building.

"I don't know where your apartment is. You're driving there, we can take turns on the way to Maine," she says, talking as they get into the car and Neal starts the engine, taking off and driving to his apartment.

They get there and Emma laughs a little bit and for a second Neal thought she was laughing about the building but quickly realizes it's the sign that says not to chain bikes to the gate with a bike on the other side, which is, of course, chained to the gate.

Neal lets out a breathy chuckle as he opens the gate and holds it open for her. They walk up to his apartment and Emma takes note of the fact that his room number is 407, just so that she doesn't have to ask the next time she needs to know it. "I'll try to be quick," he says and Emma nods, going immediately over to the window where their dream catcher hangs in the window.

Neal grins as he looks at her while he takes out his suitcase. "Do you want that? You can take it," he says but she shakes her head, hanging it back up on the window. His smile fades a bit as he puts clothes neatly into his suitcase.

She walks into the other room, going to sit on the bed while he packs his suitcase. "I already have the pictures," she says, handing him a pair of socks that he missed while trying to throw them into the suitcase.

Neal nods, smiling a bit as he remembers all of the old photos that they took with a Polaroid camera- one that he still had sitting in his desk drawer, along with half a package of unused film. He walks over to the desk and picks it up out of the drawer, bringing it and the film over to the bed to put in his backpack. "Oh my god, I can't believe you still have that," she says and he smiles, nodding.

She watches as he zips up his backpack, then goes and grabs down a backpack from the closet and puts his sweat-shirt into it along with his sketchbook, the camera and its film, and a few other things that he wasn't paying enough attention to to recognize. "You're bringing it?" she asks as she watches him put it into his backpack.

He nods, looking over at her and smiling brightly before answering. "Of course! Maybe we could get some more good memories in pictures out of this trip," he says, putting it in the back wrapped up in his sweater so that it won't break if he drops the bag. "I'm ready to go if you wanna," he says and she nods, standing up and they walk downstairs to her car. He puts his suitcase in the trunk next to hers and his backpack on the seat behind him in the car so he'll be able to reach it if he needs to.

They start driving and after many hours of driving and many breaks along the way, they finally get to Storybrooke. Emma parks outside a nice little house and rubs Neal's arm as he begins to shake with nerves. "What if he doesn't like me?" he asks, resting his cheek on his hand.

Emma gives him a look, staring at him funny. "He's 6 months old, Neal," she says and he sighs, putting his head in his hands. Emma opens her door, grabbing her backpack out of the trunk and handing Neal's to him before they start going to the door. "Just calm down, okay," she mumbles after ringing the doorbell. They hear a cry, one of a child, approaching the door as they see the blurry outline of Regina through the door's glass.

She answers the door and gives Emma a hug as best she can. "Hi," she says breathlessly and shakes Neal's hand. "Regina Mills, nice to meet you," she says, offering him as best of a smile as she can while holding their screaming child.

Emma looks at her, tilting her head to the side as she watches her and then sees her sigh as the microwave starts to go off. "I can take him, Gina," she says, putting her backpack down on the ground and taking Henry from Regina so she could go and get what was probably a bottle for the wailing baby from the microwave.

Regina smiles at her gratefully, taking her hand in both of her own before rushing into the kitchen, Emma following slowly behind her. Henry calms down almost instantly when Emma takes him and grabs onto her finger with all of his, playing with it with both of his hands. Emma smiles at him, bouncing him up and down as they make their way into the kitchen.

Emma sits down on one of the bar stools at the small breakfast bar and Neal sits down beside her, looking at their son in awe. "Do you wanna hold him?" Emma asks, seeing that Neal's watching Henry and the baby is reaching for him while sitting on her lap. Neal nods and Emma passes Henry to him. Neal sits the baby on his thigh, holding onto him with both hands until he feels comfortable with just one like Emma does.

Regina looks over at him after the bottle is all done, smiling at the father and son meeting each other for the first time, Henry already seeming to have taken a liking to Neal and is holding onto his shirt with both hands and leaning against his chest. Neal's holding onto his son, looking down at him with such compassion and affection for the little boy.

Neal notices that Regina's watching him and looks up at her, seeing that she's holding an already made bottle in her hands. "Do you wanna feed him?" she asks and Neal nods once, a small smile spreading across his face and she hands it to him before coming around the other side of the counter and showing him how to hold Henry while feeding him.

Emma smiles as she watches Neal with the kid. She never really knew how good he was with kids until now. Sure, there was maybe once or twice when they found kids on the road that they felt the need to take care of and watched overnight, and then the few that lost their parent's in the grocery store or had fallen off something at the park, but that was really it and they were all for short periods of time and none of them was his own child. Now, she was beginning to see that side of him.

He makes sure to hold onto Henry tight while feeding him, afraid to drop him or hurt him in some way. Emma smiles as he looks up at her and smiles, chuckling a little bit as Henry let's go of the bottle and starts using his little fists to try to push the bottle away. "I can take that, here's this," Regina says, handing him a cloth in exchange for the half-full bottle.

He looks at it with a confused expression until Henry starts crying a minute later and Emma helps him. She puts the cloth on his shoulder and helps him pick Henry up. "You have to pat his back. He'll throw it up a little bit because that's what babies do but it's completely normal," she says watching as Neal pats Henry's back and he throws up. Neal makes a face and Regina comes around to take the cloth from Henry.

She looks over at Emma when she comes back into the kitchen from the laundry room. "Hey, have you guys had dinner yet? I could fix something up, or we could go out somewhere if you wanna go someplace," she offers and Emma looks to Neal, who is too fixated on the giggling baby sitting on his lap.

Emma looks back to Regina and smiles, looking over at her. "It depends. Has Henry left the house today?" Emma asks and Regina shakes her head and Emma remembers that she was getting her cable fixed. "Let's go out, then. It might be good to get him out of the house," Emma says and Regina nods, walking over to the door and slipping a pair of converse on before grabbing Henry's car seat and walking over to Neal.

Regina watches as he reluctantly places his child in the seat and Emma can see that he's beginning to get nervous as his hands start shaking, something that happens very rarely. "You can sit next to him in the backseat if you'd like," Regina says and Neal nods. She straps the baby's car seat into the car and Neal goes around to get in the middle row of the backseat.

He learns on that car trip that Henry doesn't like his car seat. He knows that he can't take Henry out of the car seat but he does reach over so that Henry can see him and tickles his stomach lightly, which makes the baby laugh and stop crying. When they get out of the car, Neal just carries him, figuring that it would be easier than carrying his car seat into the restaurant while the child screams the whole time.

They sit Henry in a high chair at first, but when he starts crying Neal takes him out and holds him on his lap while they eat. "Neal, if you rip the fries into little pieces he can eat them," Regina says, watching as Neal tries to convince Henry to eat a little piece of chicken that he ripped up. "Chicken is still too stringy for him so he could choke on it, though," she says and Neal nods, taking out a fry from the basket and ripping it up into tiny pieces before putting it into Henry's mouth gently.

The baby smiles and giggles a little bit as Neal continues ripping off pieces of fries and feeding them to Henry. After about two of them, Neal stops it, figuring that it's not healthy to give him too many of them. They leave after everyone's eaten already and Neal has to put Henry back in his car seat, something that he really doesn't want to do because he knows that Henry hates it, but he knows that it's not safe to not put him in the car seat.

After they get back to Regina's house, they hang out for a little bit before it's bedtime, when Henry went to his nursery, Emma and Neal went into the guest room- which was pretty much just Emma's room seeing as she was the only one who stays in it- and Regina goes to her room. One thing that Neal knows is that he's very, very excited for the next day when they would have even more fun with their son and maybe even get to take some pictures with the Polaroid camera to take home with them.

 **So, I have an idea that I need some opinions on. I have a collections document on Google Docs of some stories like these. Some of them I didn't post because they just kinda felt incomplete, other's I was able to get the point across within just a few paragraphs, some were ideas that I had that I didn't really wanna write, but felt like I should at the same time, and many other reasons. Anyway, the point is, would you guys like me to post it? There are more than five of them, I think, so there would be a few to read.**

 **Then, there is the idea that I post the prompts along with the things I write because I have a page on Google Docs for my ideas and stuff (some more detailed and specific than others...), but if I post them than you guys can use the ideas and then PM me and I'll read your version of it! I think that might be interesting, but it might be a bit of extra work so I don't wanna do it unless you guys really want me to.**

 **Those are just some ideas that have been on my mind for a while. I'll stop with the author's notes.**


	23. Better With You

**While writing this, I have come to a realization. In between the time that Neal died and when Emma went back to the Charming apartment to save Snow, she lost her hat. Whenever Emma and Neal hugged each other, he always smelled her hair. SHE FREAKING LEFT THE HAT THERE WITH HIM BECAUSE IT SMELLS LIKE HER HAIR AND SHE KNOWS HE LIKES THAT. I'M CRYING.**

 **On another note, when this happens might be a tad bit confusing. It happens before Neal dies in Quiet Minds, so instead of him dying, this happens.**

A gunshot comes from the other side of the trees, but Emma doesn't see the bullet. For a second she thinks it could be the dwarves or the merry men hunting, but she's proven wrong the second that Neal collapses right next to her. She catches him as best she can and puts his head down on her lap.

She doesn't have time to comfort him while she takes off her jacket and then her shirt, glad that she's wearing something under it and uses it to put pressure on the wound, all while taking her phone out of her pocket and calling the hospital. "911, what's your emergency?" the operator asks and Emma sighs in relief, happy that they're in range and she still has cell service.

She holds the shirt down on the wound while she talks to the 911 operator. "Someone was shot down by the Toll Bridge, I need an ambulance," she says and the operator replies with the usual things she's supposed to say, but Emma's not paying attention as the call ends from the other end of the line and she puts her phone down, taking Neal's hand.

She's relieved that he's still awake, not because he's in pain but because she knows that if he wasn't, that wouldn't be good. She holds his hand tightly, squeezing it gently and smiling down at him as best she can. "It's gonna be okay, just hold on," she tells him.

She's watching in horror as his eyes begin to close and his breathing gets more shallow until it stops.

She looks at him wide eyed and lays his body down in the dirt, getting on her knees and beginning CPR, pressing down on his chest thirty times before getting up and giving him mouth-to-mouth, repeating this again and again until the ambulance gets there.

The paramedic comes rushing towards them, another one following not far behind with a stretcher in hand. "How long ago did he stop breathing?" the young woman asks, looking up at Emma with wide eyes as she takes over compressions, the other one taking out a balloon- looking thing with a mask attached and putting it over Neal's nose and mouth, looking at Emma and awaiting an answer.

Emma thinks for a second. It felt like a long time ago, at least thirty minutes but she knows that it couldn't take an ambulance that long to get there. "I don't know, it was probably about ten minutes ago?" she says, looking over at the other paramedic, the one that's not busy giving Neal CPR.

She over at Emma, who's shaking with nerves and has tears flowing down her face at an unbelievable rate. "Can you do this? You just keep squeezing it and releasing it," she says and Emma nods, taking the balloon thing from the paramedic as she unfolds the stretcher and pulls him onto it before loading it into the ambulance, Emma sitting by Neal's head as she continues to do what the paramedic told her.

The ambulance ride feels hours long, when in reality it's only a few minutes from the side of Storybrooke they're on to the hospital. When they pull up in front of the hospital, everything gets chaotic. A nurse takes over her position with the breathing thing and they rush Neal into the OR, leaving Emma behind the doors that she's not allowed to enter.

Then, she's suddenly more aware of the tears falling from her eyes, her erratic breathing, her shaking body, the sobs coming out of her mouth every few seconds, Neal's blood on her hands, and the sweat covering her body. She's aware of little other than her terror and the fact that they just took her love away on a gurney and she may never see him alive again, when Belle comes up behind her and puts her hand on her shoulder.

Emma looks up at him and the other woman takes her in for a hug, rubbing her back as she leads her away from the doors and to the bathroom to wash her hands and face off. "I can go back to your room at Granny's for you and get some new clothes. They have a shower room here that I'll bet you can use and then change out of these sweaty clothes. I'll go by the docks and let Hook know that he should keep Henry for the night unless you want him here," she offers and Emma nods, looking at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes are red from all the crying she's done and her breathing is still insanely fast, but at least she's stopped crying. "Can you? Please?" she asks and Belle nods, putting her hand on Emma's shoulder. "If you could maybe have Hook explain what's going on to Henry, too?" she asks and Belle nods, pulling Emma in for a hug before leaning back and putting her hand back on her shoulder.

"He's gonna pull through," she says before leaving the room to go and complete many favors for Emma. Emma leaves the bathroom, going into the waiting room to wait for Belle to come back. She does so about a half hour later, a backpack full of things she'll need for a few days at the hospital in hand. "Any news?" she asks, handing Emma the bag. She shakes her head, looking down at the ground.

Belle frowns, sitting beside Emma. "You go and take a shower. I'll save you a seat and come get you if anything happens," she says and Emma nods, thanking her before rushing off into the shower room in the hospital.

She turns the water on before taking off her clothes when she's locked the door, letting the warm water fall over her and calm her down a little bit. After she's almost done rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, she hears Belle's voice. "Emma, a nurse came out. So far it seems to be going okay. They have him hooked up to breathing machines and a machine to keep his heart going while they work. They took the bullet out but they still need to fix the artery and stop the bleeding before they can bring him out," she says and Emma sends back an okay before hearing the door close.

Was it really that bad that they had to put him on a bunch of stabilizers? She thought that once they got his heart going again, he would be fine but apparently she was wrong. She finishes in the shower before going back to Belle and sitting with her dirty clothes in her lap instead of with the clean clothes in her bag.

Dr. Whale comes out of the OR once the surgery is done and walks over to Belle and Emma and hands Emma his watch and something from his coat. "This was in his pocket, I thought you might like to have it and this was on him. He's okay, we disconnected him for the stabilizers and we're gonna take him to ICU room 208. The surgery went well, we took out the bullet and fixed the lacerated artery. He's expected to make a full recovery," he says before leading Emma to his hospital room and Belle goes home.

They wheel Neal in on a hospital bed a few minutes later, still asleep because of the anesthesia and even more pale than he was before they brought him into the hospital. One of the nurses smiles at her as she finishes hooking up his meds before leaving the two of them alone. Emma puts her hand over his on the bed, moving the chair closer to it so that he won't wonder where she is when he wakes up.

After a few minutes, he starts stirring around a little bit and Emma sits up straighter, waiting for him to open his eyes. "Neal, sweetie, can you hear me?" she asks and gets a short nod in response as he groans, closing his eyes even tighter than before. She squeezes his hand and he squeezes it back, letting out a short groan. "You're in the hospital. You were shot but you're gonna be okay. Can you open your eyes?" she asks and he groans, opening his eyes and closing them many times before keeping them open.

She smiles at him and presses the call button on the remote thing on the bed and Whale walks into the room. "Mr. Cassidy, glad to see you're awake. You were shot and you suffered some internal bleeding, but you're expected to make a full recovery. So, here's this remote, this button is for if you need a doctor. I'll be in to check on you later," he says before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Emma holds Neal's hand tightly, looking over at the heart monitor as his heart rate speeds up. He looks over at her and smiles, taking her hand and attempting to pull her up onto the bed with him. "What're you doing?" she asks, moving the chair even closer to the bed. He opens his mouth to talk but all that comes out is a little squeak. She stands up and goes over to the foot of the bed which has a table. On it, there's a tray with cups and a pitcher of water.

She helps him sit up, handing him the cup and sitting on the side of the bed rather than the chair so that she's able to reach him. "Are you okay?" is the first thing that comes out of his mouth and she chuckles, taking the cup back from him and putting it on the table.

"I wasn't shot, you were," she says, looking back at him and taking his hand. He gives her a look and she smiles, looking down at the mattress. "I'm not sure just yet so I'm kinda running away from my feelings on this whole situation. Are _you_ okay?" she asks, squeezing his hand and looking into his eyes, which are still tired and a little bit more empty than normal, but she figures that's what the drugs do.

He nods, looking over at the wall. "Sore… But that's what happens when you get shot," he says and she nods, looking over at the door as a nurse comes in to check the IV bag, hanging up another one and connecting it to the little thing in his arm before leaving. "What's wrong? You're sad. Don't say you're not, because I can see it," he says and she looks down at the ground, closing her eyes.

He leans forwards with a quiet groan and pulls her over to him. Her head goes to his shoulder and her hand rests on his chest. "Well, if it's because I got hurt, I'm gonna be okay. The doctor even said that. Unless it gets infected, which it probably won't and even then, I'll catch it early on and come back here and the doctor can fix it," he says, rubbing her arm comfortingly. She nods against his arm but he can't see any change in emotion or anything.

She picks up her head to look up at him, her hand still on his chest. "No one told you what happened after you blacked out, right?" she asks and he shakes his head. She puts her hand right over his heart, closing her eyes as she feels the rhythmic thumping of it; something that wasn't there just a short time ago. "You passed out. For a minute, I thought that it was normal because of the blood loss but after a few seconds I realized that your heart wasn't beating," she explains, putting her head down over his heart and removing her hand from it.

He pulls her a little bit closer, knowing exactly where this was headed. "If you ever- and I mean _ever-_ make me do CPR on you again, you're gonna get an earful from me whenever you wake up. You scared the life out of me. They had to hook you up to stabilizers while you were in surgery, do you even know how terrifying that was to hear?" she starts getting a little bit more angry but ends up crying towards the end of her little rant, burying her face into his shoulder and crying, soaking through his shirt.

He rubs her arm up and down, holding her close to him and whispering comforting things to her until she's somewhat calmed down before he starts talking. "But I'm okay now. I'm breathing on my own and I don't need something to keep my heart going. I'm doing it all by myself. I'm okay, Em," he promises, reaching down and kissing the top of her head lightly but that doesn't help with anything for the moment.

She picks her head up and looks him in the eye, tears still falling from her own and her breathing ragged as she speaks. "But you weren't," she says, getting upset again and he pulls her into his arms tightly, kissing her head and her face again and again until instead of crying, she's laughing and smiling.

She rests her head back on his shoulder, her eyes closing softly as he speaks. "If I wasn't okay, would I be here right now?" he asks and she shakes her head, sighing softly in contentment as she cuddles up into his arms. For a few minutes, she even forgets that they're in a hospital.

Instead, she sees them in Portland in a crappy motel room, cuddled up on a bed that literally might cave in on them and his arms around her tightly, trying to comfort her, even if _he's_ the one who got hurt. "Then I'm okay," he whispers, his voice breaking her out of her trance as the heart monitors seem to be making more noise than normal and his voice seems louder than usual as she remembers that they're in a hospital, not at some motel in Portland.

She comes to realize through the next few days that he's right whenever he says that he's going to be okay- even if it's just to make her feel better. She especially realizes this when the doctor says he can go home after quite a few physical therapy sessions- that is, of course, if he's willing to do just a few more of them, promise to take it easy, and go home with Emma instead of right back to Granny's.

He agrees to all of them after some minor persuading from Emma -and her parents- by promising that he won't be imposing on them.

Within the time that he's staying with them, a lot of things happen. Everyone remembers the missing year (including Henry), They defeat the witch, Snow goes into labor, Emma's little brother comes home, Emma almost falls through a time portal, and they have a coronation ceremony for the new baby. After many, many good things happen while Neal's with them, she is able to convince him that the only time he will be going back to New York is with her when they go to get the stuff out of his old apartment and from her's.

 **Hope you liked it! Please go vote on the polls on my profile page!**


	24. The Things We Want

**This was requested by oncer4life11 as another part to The Things We Have series. Send a review if you want another part to this short story, or if I should make it into it's own series with multiple chapters and everything. Enjoy!**

Neal wakes up and feels something heavy on his arm. He looks down to see Emma there and he smiles, the memories from the day before rushing into his mind. He looks at the clock before sitting up. He gently moves Emma's head off of his arm and stands, throwing some clothes on before starting towards the door. "Where you goin'?" Emma asks sleepily, picking her head up off of the pillow that he had gently laid her down on.

He turns around and smiles sheepishly at her before walking back to the bed. "I was gonna go see if Henry's awake," he explains and she smiles, sitting up before climbing out of bed and getting dressed so she can join him on seeing their son. They walk into the kitchen, already seeing Regina cooking breakfast and Henry in his high chair playing with a rattle toy.

Neal walks over to the chair and immediately Henry gets happy, smiling really big and holding his arms out for his father. Neal smiles and reaches down, picking Henry up and carrying him over to the breakfast bar stools where they sat the night before. "So, do you guys wanna do something today?" Emma asks, going to sit beside Neal and Henry at the counter.

Regina nods, handing them each plates with eggs and bacon on them. Neal looks over at her, smiling gratefully as he begins to start eating, Henry reaching up and trying to take some eggs from Neal. "It's okay if he has a little bit of those," Regina says, looking at Neal before turning to Emma. "What do you want to do?" she asks, looking in between the two of them.

Emma shrugs, looking over at Neal. "We could go to the mall or something," he says, putting a little piece of egg in Henry's mouth and the boy smiles at him, clapping his hands together for more. "Or do something else," he says looking up at them. Regina nods, looking over at Henry and thinking for a minute.

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Regina says something about it. "The mall sounds good," she says, looking over at Emma. "We can go later today," she adds, reaching over at Neal and smiling brightly at Emma. After they finish eating, they all go into the living room where there are a bunch of toys laying about.

Henry sits in the middle of the floor next to Neal, who just sits and watches. "Does he like trains?" Neal asks, seeing that there are only a few trains amidst a pile of cars and planes.

Regina looks down at him, smiling as she glances over at her little boy. "Of course he does! Every little boy like trains, don't they?" she asks, just as Henry's about to put one of the few trains he has in his mouth. "No, Henry, don't do that," she says, getting up and taking it from the boy.

Henry starts crying loudly, which kind of scares Neal and he freezes up, unable to even try to comfort the boy because he's afraid to bother him more than he already is. Emma notices this and looks to Regina, who nods in approval and she gets down on the floor kneeling in front of Henry, picking him up and taking him over to her love.

She hands Henry to Neal, who just looks at her in shock for a minute before taking Henry and bouncing him up and down a little bit, which makes the boy stop crying almost immediately and grabs Neal's shirt in his little fists, much like the night before. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay," Neal cooes and Henry reaches forwards, putting both his hands on the sides of Neal's face.

Neal laughs a little bit as Henry starts patting the sides of his face with both hands simultaneously, giggling as he does so. Neal takes Henry's hands and claps them together rather than on his face. "We should go soon," Regina says and Emma nods, going to the guest room to get her and Neal's shoes from the floor.

She walks over to them and takes Henry from Neal so he can put his shoes on and then Neal takes Henry back so that Emma can put her own shoes on. Regina straps Henry into the car seat when they get outside and Neal sits in the back with him again while they drive off to the mall to walk around and buy things that they don't need.

Neal carries Henry through the store, even though there are strollers that they can use at the door. It's then when Emma realizes why he's so attached to their son, why he woke up early to go and see him, why he has hardly put him down since they got there.

He knows that eventually, they're gonna have to go back home. He's scared that next time, he might not be invited back to see him. He's afraid that these few days will be the only times he has with his little boy and he thinks that if they're close enough for long enough when Henry grows up he might just remember a little of it. He might just remember the times he spent with his father as a baby. He might just remember how badly his daddy wanted to be with him.

Her heart breaks. She looks over at her son and her lover, seeing Henry pointing to things in the store and Neal smiling as he looks in the direction of them. She sees him talking to their little boy like he can understand. She walks closer to him, smiling at Henry as he grabs her nose and starts pulling on it.

She takes his hand off of it and moves it to Neal's nose, which Henry grabs onto immediately and starts smiling. "You're gonna see him again, you know. I was talking to Regina earlier and she said that she'd like it if you came back with me from now on," she says and his face falls. Henry notices it and grabs Neal's face and claps like he did when they were at home. When Neal doesn't laugh or smile, he starts crying, probably able to tell that Neal's sad.

Neal bounces him up and down a little bit, both Emma and Regina stop so that Neal can take care of Henry. "It's okay, buddy. Daddy's okay," he whispers, rubbing Henry's back a little bit and the baby leans back, still crying, and puts his hands on Neal's face and does the thing again. Neal smiles and Henry smiles stops crying and does it again until Neal laughs.

Then Henry leans down and puts his head on Neal's shoulder. Emma smiles as they begin walking again, standing next to Neal. "Really, though. I'd like it if you did. If eventually, we're planning on taking him back, he should get to know his daddy," she says, smiling as she says 'daddy'. She doesn't know why but it just sounds _right._

They walk around the mall for a little while, going through and buying many things that they don't really need, to take back home. They take Henry back to the house and Regina lets Emma and Neal experiment on giving him a bath, which was very fun for them seeing as they, too, had to change out of their clothes by the time they were done because they were soaking wet, too.

They go out for dinner again and Henry gets some more french fries and they go back home, putting Henry down before the adults watch a movie and then go to bed, themselves.


	25. Family is Home

**So... I made The Things We Have into a series because it seems like you guys seem to like those a lot. You should go check it out!**

 **Now, this one is one I wrote a long time ago so it might not be very good, but I don't have any requests to complete at the moment and my giant list of prompts on Google Docs isn't satisfying right now. Enjoy!**

Emma never thought that she would cry when she first saw him again. Punch him, maybe but not break down sobbing. This whole trip was screwing her up beyond belief. She had to get on a plane and then get on an elevator at the airport and now she was running into Henry's father on the streets of New York after finding out that he was her enemy's son.

Their whole family tree was beyond screwed up, she had to admit. She had run straight into him and done all she would've been able to do to stop him; knock him down. "Emma?" he whispered right after she stood and looked up at him. Her mind flooded with questions and accusations and swear words but mostly confusion. That was all it took. Just a little more being scared and confused.

She opened her mouth but no words were able to come out. He looked different than she had remembered but just the same. Her mind must have altered the way he looked to go with how the anger inside her was. The second she saw him, though, she knew it was him. There was no way she would've forgotten about him. She started shaking, not saying a single word. He remembered her. Of course he did, obviously but he actually knew who she was and everything.

The whole world felt like it was closing in on her and she really just wanted to undo the past 48 hours and redo them in her favor. The tears started prickling in her eyes and she cursed her freaking emotions. She was supposed to be angry and slap him or something, not just sit here and cry. "What are you doing here?" he asked, leading her to sit down on the curb to calm down some before returning to wherever she came from.

She shook her head, not really knowing how to tell him that she brought his father, the only man he truly hated with a fiery, burning passion, into New York to bring him home with them. He put a hand on her back but she didn't know why. Why was he being nice to her? He had left her for dead in the middle of an alley while she was pregnant with his son. It really wasn't fair to blame him for that, since he didn't know, though. "Gold- Rumplestiltskin, your father brought me and Henry here," she told him, making a face that showed that she hadn't meant to mention the young boy's name.

Neal looked over at her, letting her try to calm herself down a little bit before he made her continue. "Who's Henry?" he asked, smiling. He had to be someone that she cared about, the way that her breathing calmed a little bit when she spoke of him. Maybe a boyfriend? Husband? Brother? Whoever he was, he was happy she found someone new that she could call her family. Someone that hadn't left her yet.

She bit her lip and he knew automatically that it wasn't a brother, father, or her husband. He should've guessed since she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. He had checked when she had her hands covering her face a minute ago. "Our son," she whispered and Neal eyes automatically became guilty and concerned. "I didn't know either, not until I was already locked up. It's not your fault. I know you wouldn't've done it if you had known," she told him, trying to talk quietly. She didn't need everybody within a mile radius knowing that she did jail time.

He took his hand off of her back to rub a hand over his face. Crap. Just crap. He didn't know that he had a son but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he knew she got eleven months. Assuming that she stayed in jail for the entire eleven months, that would mean that she had his son in prison. Now he felt like more of a jerk than before. "I'm so sorry," he apologized, sincerely. It sounded like he actually meant it and Emma was realizing a few things that she didn't want to be realizing.

She used to hate him, thinking of all the awful things that happened while he was gone, how they wouldn't have happened if he had stayed. Maybe he wasn't as much of a terrible person as she thought she remembered him to be. "It's okay. I'm fine now," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't expect her to be so opened up to him already. He thought that she would still be in the process of trying to beat him up. "There is something you could do to make my life last a little longer, though," she told him, picking her head up and smiling at him, tilting her head down. He knew that this would be an offer that he wouldn't be able to resist, especially if it would help her.

He nodded, raising an eyebrow. He had an awful feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach. "I need to take you to your dad so he doesn't murder my entire family," she whispered, trying to keep her voice down a little bit so that nobody would know that a creepy old man had threatened her with mass murder. Neal opened his mouth but realized he had no words for that. He sighed and gestured with his hand for her to lead the way.

She smiled and stood, taking his hand and helping him up. They walked down the street to get back to the front of Neal's apartment. "So, what've you been up to?" she asked, just missing someone's shoulder as they walked. He shrugged. "Not much, huh? Me neither," she chuckled. It was weird, how they could just say what was different with them and it was like they were right back where they left off.

Neal smiled at her, taking her hand as they crossed the street, just like they always did -or do, apparently. She was still pretty much the same. "So, I should tell you about Henry," she told him and Neal nodded, keeping a tight grip on her hand but still loose enough that she could let go if she wanted. "He was adopted by the mayor… that's how I got there, actually," she said, praying that he would finally ask a question so she wouldn't have to keep throwing out random facts about her life to him.

Thank God he did, because Emma was going to hit him and tell him to say something if he didn't on his own. "Who was she? In the Enchanted Forest?" he asked and Emma bit her lip. That was the wrong question to be asking. It would either be something that he didn't really care about, or something that he would take the kid away from her for. "Who? The Wicked Witch? Evil Queen?" he chuckled, looking down.

She didn't respond, just looked at the ground and squeezed his hand. He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes for a second. "Seriously? The Evil Queen is Henry's adoptive mother?" he asked and Emma nodded, squeezing his hand again. She needed some emotional support when she found that out, she was sure he would, too.

He sighed as Henry and Gold came into view and Emma pulled Henry aside to talk to him. "Hey, you remember when I told you your dad was a firefighter?" she whispered, sitting him on one of the benches outside Neal's apartment. Emma didn't know what else to say but she knew that she shouldn't just say that she lied.

Henry sighed, letting his mom take his hand. Before she could say anything else, he nodded and interrupted. "Let me guess, you lied to protect me, right?" he whispered, not sounding too upset about it. Emma nodded, making a face that showed she felt bad. "Is that him?" Henry asked, keeping his voice low in case Emma didn't want the man to know. Emma nodded, putting a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Did you tell him?" he asked. Emma nodded, smiling at the young boy and leading him to Gold and Neal.

Neal raised his eyebrows at Emma, sighing. He was just having a conversation with Gold. She understood how he felt. "Is this Henry?" Neal asked and the young boy nodded before Emma had a chance to respond. "Hi, I'm-" Neal was interrupted by Henry. The boy was one that would spend time with his dad but would waste no time with small talk.

Henry put his hands behind his back, looking very much like he did when he showed up at Emma's door in Boston about a year ago. "Hi. My name's Henry. I'm your son," Emma chuckled, figuring that it was now just a little bit of a tradition. The exact same thing that he said to her when he appeared at her door.

Neal smiled at the little boy, looking into his eyes. "Hi. My name's Neal. I'm your dad," he told the boy, who smiled at him. Henry wrapped his arms around Neal, who smiled at Emma. They missed watching this kid grow up. Was it bad that Neal was just happy that they would get to see him for the rest of the time he was around? Neal looked at Emma, "Can I go back with you guys?" he mouthed and Emma looked to Gold, who nodded. Emma's eyes lit up, stealing a hug from Neal once Henry let go.

Maybe it was for Henry but part of her thought that maybe, just maybe, he was also going back for her, too. "We have a plane ride tomorrow at 4:00 am," she whispered into his ear. He chuckled, taking her hand back. Gold and Henry went ahead to get pizza but Neal and Emma stayed back outside. "Why do you keep grabbing my hand? Not that I don't like it," she asked, feeling the need to add the last part so that he wouldn't let go of it. This kind of felt like a high school crush but there was no way she was ending it.

He sighed, smiling at her and sitting her down on a bench so that they could talk without Henry right there the whole time. "Because I really want a second chance with you, and I kind of feel guilty about asking for one," he told her, being completely honest and truthful. The reaction he got out of her was the opposite of what he was expecting, honestly.

She smiled from ear to ear, looking happier than he had ever seen her before. "I'll give you a second chance," she whispered, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, making him smile brightly, too. It was like her happiness was contagious. Henry walked out just as she was leaning back so that she was in her personal space bubble.

He just looked at them for a second, silently asking what Emma was dying to say. She sighed, looking at Neal, who squeezed her hand. "Yes, we're together, okay? Stop looking at me like that," she said the first part clearly but mumbled the last part. Her son was looking at her like she had done something horribly wrong and she hated it.

The boy looked away, following Gold back to the hotel after Neal suggested that they went back there to pack things up and head back to his place to sleep, since it was already almost 7:00, they had a 4:00 flight and Emma was pissed at how unorganized all of their luggage was and wanted to rearrange things. Neal took her hand as they went up the elevator, knowing that she was dying a little bit more inside each time that they had to go on one.

They grabbed everything, getting a cab to take them back to his apartment, where they unpacked and repacked everything, Neal putting a few things with Emma and Henry. After a while, it felt normal, sitting on the floor in his apartment and organizing clothes together, ending up throwing rolls of socks at each other. They did end up cleaning that, having everything neatly packed up in their suitcases and going to bed at around 9:00.

Gold was on the couch, since his leg was feeling okay but not okay enough to sleep on the armchair in the corner. Henry thought that would be a fun experience, so he curled up on there after Emma gave him a hug. Emma and Neal cuddled up on his bed, her head on his chest for the first time in 11 years. "I think you'll like Storybrooke. It's really quiet -well, when we're not being attacked- but it's really good," she whispered in order not to wake Henry and Gold up, since they had gone to bed about a half hour before them.

Neal nodded, playing with her hair, which was lying neatly against her back. "I'll like it, just as long as you're there," he whispered, making Emma smile. This was kind of ridiculous, being so stuck right here with him but it was good. It made her happy, knowing that someone loved her out there, especially that he was right beside her. He put his hand on her side, holding her there.

The alarm went off at around 2:00 am, earlier than they really needed to be there but they had coffee so it was fine. They all boarded the plane, Neal gripping Emma's hand tightly. She still was just the same. He could still tell when she was about to cry just as well as before, so he made Henry go to the bathroom before the takeoff. "It'll be fine. It's only a little while," he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder pulling her to him in a hug but letting go as Henry walked out, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by exposing her fear to their son.

Neal was right. He held her hand the whole time, even while they were eating. The plane ride went by quicker than Emma thought it would. She was also certain they would die but that didn't happen either. They drove the rest of the hour to Storybrooke, where everyone welcomed Neal with open arms, the opposite of what she thought everyone would do.

The only thing she thought that they would do when they found out who he was and what happened with them was hit him but they instead hugged him and welcomed him into their family more than she was yet. That was actually kind of upsetting to her, since they were still hesitant about her but not about the man who just landed twenty minutes ago. "This is so weird," he whispered, going to sit beside her in their booth at Granny's. It was another one of those weird unspoken of accomplishment parties that were kind of fun but Emma wouldn't admit it.

She knew what he meant, though. Everyone had gathered up at the local diner to eat dinner and listen to music and have conversations with everyone there but Neal didn't know anybody besides her and her whole family. "I know. It's like everyone here is telepathic," she told him, looking over at her parents and Regina. "I thought we were just coming to dinner," she mumbled, making him laugh and almost spit out his drink. He didn't entirely believe that she didn't know about this but it was okay because she was being funny.

Emma took his hand as everyone started to leave to go home and to bed. "You should come stay with us," she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. He nodded, turning his head to kiss her's before they got up and started walking home.

Emma opened the door, taking some of Neal's stuff upstairs while Henry sat on the couch beside him and showed him the storybook. Emma went over to them, "Time for bed," she told the boy, making him sigh and ask for five more minutes. Normally, she would've said yes and let him continue for a hour but she wanted to sleep and nobody else was awake beside Neal, who was coming upstairs with her.

She shook her head, smiling at him sarcastically. He sighed, hugging Neal goodnight before going upstairs to go to sleep. Emma took Neal's hand and led him upstairs, grabbing some clothes out of the dresser and going to change in the bathroom but not before going over to him and kissing him on the cheek.

When she came out of the bathroom, Neal went in, giving her a short kiss on the cheek before closing the door. She smiled to herself, going to sit down on the bed while she waited for him so she could turn off the lights. The second the door opened, she was up and going to the lightswitch to turn them off, eager to actually get some sleep for the first time in two days.

Neal smiled at her as she shut them off, walking over to her bed and laying down beside her before she cuddled up next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, I really like your family," he said after a few minutes of silence, getting no response from her, not even a hum or her nodding her head. He looked down at her, seeing that she's already dead asleep on his arm.

He smiled, picking her head up with one hand while moving the other out from under it. He moved it over to his chest so that he could actually hold onto her before he fell asleep as well, not caring who walked into the room and found them like that, because he hoped that anybody who did would be happy that the lost girl and the lost boy had finally been reunited.

 **Also if the guest reviewer on The Things We Have is reading these stories, I'm replying on here because I** ** _can't_** **reply directly (make an account, really) and I haven't even started another chapter for that series yet. Regina would not necessarily be happy letting Henry go but she knows that it's Emma and Neal's kid and she wants them to have him back if they want him. She's probably thought long and hard about it and has come to a realization that if she keeps that kid even if his parents want him, how badly is that going to affect him? He'll spend his life wondering why they gave him away in the first place if they could've had him and she doesn't want that for him even if he is her son legally and she doesn't have to give him away. Sure, she'd love it if he was staying with her because she loves him but if he's going to spend his life hurting because of that, she doesn't want to force that upon him. I think in this story I'm trying to make Regina less of a villain than in Season One of ONCE and I'm trying to show that she just wants what's best for Henry, not herself and if that's being with Emma and Neal, then it's being with Emma and Neal.**

 **I hope that explained it. If not, once you make an account you can PM me and I can try to explain a little bit better.**


	26. I'll Remember You

August shows up to Emma's hotel room with flowers and a sweatshirt the day Neal dies. She doesn't know why but part of her is mad at him. Part of her wants to cuss him out and slap him until his face is purple. It might be because he took away her chance at having more time with Neal, or because he shows up randomly at her apartment on the day when she needs him most and Neal could never do that.

Either way, she lets him in, letting him leave the flowers by the door and going to sit beside her on the couch in front of the TV, where she's been sitting and watching House reruns instead of thinking about her feelings. "Hey!" Emma exclaims when August picks the remote up off the couch and pauses the TV.

He shakes his head, putting the remote on a shelf that he knows she won't be able to reach without help. "No," he says, looking over at her and walking over to the couch. "We're gonna wallow and grieve right now. Chase and his fluffy hair can wait until later," August says, sitting down beside her with a grunt and putting the sweatshirt that he brought in her lap.

She looks up at him, an eyebrow raised as she holds the jacket. "I went up to his apartment yesterday, got some of his stuff. This one smelled stronger- more like him, thought you'd want it," he explains quietly. Henry was staying with Killian overnight, who agreed to take him and tell him some more about his father while Emma couldn't do it.

She nods, taking it and smelling it, bringing tears to her eyes. August looks over at her and frowns as he sees the look on her face change from strong, scary Emma to sad, lonely Emma in just an instant. "I miss him," she mumbles, putting the coat back on her lap and looking down at it, closing her eyes.

August nods, scooting closer to her on the couch and bringing her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Emma," he whispers. If only he hadn't stopped Neal on the street that night. If only he hadn't left Emma that day. If only he had stuck around for just a while longer, he might've been able to prevent all of this. Emma rests her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as his arm goes around her.

His hands shake as he reaches over to pick up the scarf lying on the coffee table right in front of Emma. "It was in his room. I don't really have anything of his, I thought this might be a good one. I didn't think anyone would notice it was gone," she explains and August nods, standing up and walking towards the door. "Where are you going?" she asks but he just tells her to wait a second before walking out the door, leaving her in a room that smells just a little bit too much like Neal Cassidy for her liking, seeing as he wasn't in it.

A few minutes later, she hears a faint knock on the door and she gets up, answering it. August comes tumbling in, struggling to carry the box in his hands while walking. He sets it down on the coffee table. "What's that?" she asks and August nods at her, giving her the go ahead to go through it.

When she opens the box… That's when she _really_ starts crying. Everything in the box had some sentimental value and that's how she knows just how long August spent up at his apartment going through stuff and sorting it out. This particular box was marked, 'Emma'. She couldn't tell if it was Neal or August's handwriting, but she was assuming that it was Neal's, seeing as there was a smiley face next to her name on it. She goes through the contents of the box, trying to hold herself together.

Some of the pictures they took with their old Polaroid camera that Neal loved for some odd reason, even though it was just another object taking space in the car and every two minutes they found themselves spending more money that they needed on film for it.

The old dream catcher, the one that they stole from a motel room in between cleanings when they decided on Tallahassee, even though the purpose of breaking into the room was just to take showers and get cleaned off because they didn't know how long it would take before they got to shower again.

An old t-shirt, one that she never really saw Neal wearing except for maybe once or twice before she kind of claimed it and wore it to bed every night because she didn't have any pajamas to wear before that, so she was stuck wearing a dress and some shorts until then.

The old Valentine's day letter that she wrote him, the one telling him that she loved him and that she was glad that they met and could take care of each other now because nobody else could or even wanted to.

Then she got to the bottom of the box, where she found even more little boxes. She took the first one out, the one dated 2001-2004 because she could only assume that she was supposed to open in chronological order. What she found made her cry even harder. Letters, carefully dated by month, day, year, and the time. She read through about half of them before she couldn't take it any longer and had to stop.

August chuckles when she starts putting things back into the box the exact same way they were in before. "I have two more of those with your name on them, one for Mr. Gold, one for Henry, one for Killian, and then one for your parents," he states and before Emma's able to question just how full Neal's closet was, she comes up with another question.

"My parents?" she asks, tilting her head to the side as she looks over at him, shaking her head. "Why them?" she asks, looking back to the box. There couldn't possibly be a box filled with things as full as that for everyone, including her parents.

August chuckles, shaking his head and looking over at him. "I don't know. It just says 'Emma's Family' on it but I'm afraid that there's probably not enough in the box to give something to everyone in your family, so parents is good, I think he would say," he explains and she nods, looking over at the box one more time.

There wasn't much about this that she doesn't have questions about, which is odd because it should be taking away questions, not adding to her list of them. Either way, there is _one_ question that was answered in that box.

Neal Cassidy never forgot about her.


	27. Meeting Henry

**This one was requested by Swanfire4ever (guest) for one where Emma finds Henry as a baby and presents him to Neal.** **I'm not sure what they meant by this one so I'm gonna assume that Emma and Neal have been reunited (after she goes to prison) and Neal doesn't know about Henry and then Emma finds him and brings him home like "Hey, this is our kid!"**

 **Enjoy!**

Emma walks over to Neal, giving him a kiss on the head before going out, not telling him where or why but promising that she'll be back before dinner that night. It's almost nine o'clock in the morning, which is the time that most stores and restaurants open, so he just assumes that she's going out to the mall or something with some of her friends or colleagues.

That's exactly what she wants him to think.

She's not going out to the store or to eat or anything like that, she's actually planning on skipping lunch that day because she knows that she won't have time to do so while she's filling out paperwork and all that comes with adopting a child.

Their son was born while she was in prison. Not long after she got out, Neal found her and brought her back to his home, which soon became _their_ home as she added in little things to make the place brighter and more like them instead of a scary dark apartment that had wallpaper that was falling off.

For almost three months, they've lived together and been a family. The only problem with that was that Neal had no idea something was missing from their tiny family. Their little boy.

Their apartment had space, enough for a child, definitely, so she had slowly started doing things to the apartment- and to Neal- to prepare them for the new person coming home very soon. Covering up the corners, putting the cleaning chemicals in the higher cabinets instead of beneath the sink, reminding Neal to close the cupboards every time he left them open.

She had planned all week to go today to pick their son up and while she had spent hours filling out paperwork, she still had about 20 more pages of it to do and that was what was going to keep her there so long.

It was asking questions, tons of them, some of the space they were living in, some about Neal, some about whether or not things have been baby-proofed. They were boring questions that she was more than willing to answer if it meant she got to take back her son.

Three hours later and they were taking her to the back room where they would be reunited. She knows that Henry has to be bigger than he was when she got to hold him, that much is obvious but nothing could've completely prepared her for when she walked into the room, seeing her son all cuddled up in a blanket.

She smiles tearfully as they give her the go-ahead to take him out of his car seat. The second that she comes into view of her little baby boy, he reaches his arms up for her and she smiles, leaning down and picking him up. "Hi, buddy. Hi," she cooes, sitting down on the plastic chair, much like the ones she remembers from her old high school's principal's office.

She holds him against her chest as they have her sign the last few papers before she's allowed to take him home. As she gets closer to the car, the more she starts to worry. What if Neal's mad at her for not telling her about their son? What if he kicks her out? What if he doesn't wanna be with her anymore?

She takes a deep breath, taking her phone out of her pocket after putting Henry in the backseat and sitting in her own seat, waiting for Neal to pick up his phone. "Hey, I'm on my way home. I have a surprise for you," she says and she can practically see him rolling his eyes through the phone screen. "And it's one that you have to promise you won't get mad about," she says in a singsongy voice.

She can hear him sigh through the phone and she waits for a reply. "Okay. Is this surprise something that we need to take care of?" he asks and she stiffens up. "Because if it is, I've known that you're going to bring something of that nature home for about two weeks now," he says and she chuckles nervously, humming before they say their goodbyes and hang up the phone.

Emma pulls out of the driveway, going home as fast as she can without breaking the law. When she gets to their apartment building, she pulls into the parking garage and takes the car seat out of the back of the car and carries it upstairs, shoving her phone and keys into her coat pocket as she walks up the stairs to their room.

She takes out her keys, taking a deep breath before walking into their room, suddenly worried about where they would put the child overnight. Neal walks into the room when he hears the door close. "Hey, so what was it that you wanted t-" he stops when he sees the child in sitting in the car seat. He looks at Emma with confusion in his eyes. "Who is that?" he asks, beginning to walk over to Emma and watching as she takes the baby out of the car seat.

She turns to look at him after she has the child carefully balanced on her hip. She gives him a sad smile before responding. "Our son," she whispers, waiting for a screaming and yelling tantrum before he kicks them out or does something he hasn't done before. He tilts his head to the side in confusion.

She gives him a short look before he begins asking questions. "You mean foster son, right? Or adoptive son? Or some other relation that is not biological?" he asks, beginning to get worried about just what might have happened while she was in prison. She bites her lip, shaking her head.

He puts his hands over his mouth and nose, closing his eyes tightly as he can't bear to look at her anymore, realizing all that he's done wrong, and by wrong... really, really wrong. Once the shock of it all settles, he takes his hands off of his face and begins trying to apologize. "Emma, I am so, so sorry," he says but she shakes her head, smiling sadly at him.

"You've already apologized enough for it. I forgive you for everything, including this. This is Henry, he's our son," she says, looking him straight in the eye as he begins to get an uncertain look in them.

He tilts his head to the side and looks at the child, contemplating what they're gonna do with him while he thinks about what they have that is for children and all of the things that they don't. "We're keeping him, aren't we?" he asks and she gets an offended look on her face as she begins to get angry with him.

She holds onto their son tighter, the fact that he's pulling on her clothes making it hard for Neal to take her seriously. " _Yes_ , we are keeping him," she snaps. "If that's not fine with you, I can go. I don't know what you thought-" she gets interrupted by him walking over and putting his hand on her shoulder, not looking angry or disappointed but instead, happy.

He shakes his head, chuckling a bit as he speaks. "No, no. That's not what I meant, just… if he's staying here, we need to go to the store soon and get him things that he needs, like a crib and baby food and toys. Lots and lots of toys that we'll trip over but will make him happy so we'll be okay with that," he says, going into a rant.

She smiles at him, looking him dead in the eye as she makes her next move when it comes to comebacks. "Yeah and we can get right on that… but you're awfully eager to go and do things with a baby that you haven't even held yet," she says and his eyes widen, silently asking if he actually can hold the child that's so focused on her shirt that he probably doesn't even know Neal is there.

She nods and Neal holds out his arms, taking the baby from her. Henry's attention suddenly goes from Emma to Neal, looking his father in the eye and reaching up with one hand, repeatedly hitting his cheek with his little fists. "Welp, I deserve that," Neal says and Emma laughs as Neal tries to convince the child to stop slapping him. "It's so nice to meet you, Henry," Neal says in a voice that Emma has never, not _once,_ heard him use before… and it's adorable.

It's at that moment that it's clear to Emma that there'll be no getting rid of Neal anytime soon, and she's glad. She also realizes that no matter what her fears were about bringing the baby home, Neal will be a great dad and she doesn't need to worry about that anymore. "I love you, Henry," Neal whispers as the boy leans against Neal's chest and closes his eyes, not yet falling asleep but likely to soon.

Over the next few days, they make their apartment more baby-friendly, getting child locks for the cabinets and a baby gate for the kitchen. They get Henry a crib, some food, toys, clothes, and other things that he'll need. Emma realizes over time that Henry has some separation anxiety, which is probably normal but she still worries about leaving him home alone.

She does know that no matter what they have to give up for their son and no matter what would be considered to be 'wrong' with him, they still love him more than anything in the world.


	28. Happy Valentine's Day

**So... I haven't posted anything today and for that I am sorry. I couldn't find anything to write about earlier but I came up with a great idea and am about to write it after updating on here.**

 **This chapter is shorter than the other ones by about 300 words. I pulled it from that document of stories that I keep asking if you guys wanna see. Please please please tell me because the second you do I promise I'll put a few up!**

 **Enjoy!**

Valentine's Day.

Dear God did Emma Swan hate it. She might have been conditioned into hating it, seeing as she never really had anyone to do anything with until Neal, but he left her and that made it just as bad as being alone. And, then he was in town.

That meant that the awkwardness level when they saw each other in Granny's would raise by about 15000%. Or so he thought.

She opens the door to the little restaurant, already knowing that Neal will be sitting there in his usual spot with a coffee in hand and reading a book. She walks over to the counter, keeping her eyes on the floor so she doesn't get noticed and orders her hot cocoa before looking at the newspaper to see what false information is being advertised today.

"Hey," someone says behind her, which triggers her reflexes and she turns around and promptly punches them in the gut. If this was anyone but Neal, they would've grabbed onto their stomach and walked away, but he just sat down beside her without a thought put into it. "I guess that's happened so many times that it doesn't even hurt anymore," he says, looking over at her as she continues to read the newspaper.

He turns to face her on the bar stool, waiting for her to look up at him and wonder why he's staring at her. "What?" she asks, shaking her head and putting the newspaper down again.

He chuckles at her, giving her a smirk and handing her something. A card and a rose. Dear God. She had forgotten all about those.

 _Emma wakes up to someone opening the car door and sits up, throwing her glasses on her face so that she doesn't end up punching Neal once again. He gets into the car, something behind his jacket and a rebellious smirk on his face that either means he's about to get them almost arrested again, or he's already done the something that's about to get them almost arrested._

 _He puts the keys in the ignition and drives off, parking in an abandoned alley and turning to face her in the car, who still has an expression of 'what just happened?' in her eyes. "Close your eyes," he whispers, waiting for her to do so._

 _She does what he says, waiting for him to tell her when to open them. "You don't have a gun, do you?" she asks and she hears him chuckle. It sounds like he's crinkling paper up. She doesn't even wanna know what Neal's doing, knowing that it's probably either dangerous or sweet, but normally just dangerous._

" _No, I don't have a gun," he promises and she nods, waiting for him to finish whatever he's doing. "Okay, open your eyes," he says and she does, turning to face towards him when he presents her with a card and a rose._

 _She smiles and before even opening the card, she reaches over the center console and kisses him sweetly. She then opens the card, which makes her start crying happy tears before she takes the rose and smells it, smiling brightly and reaches over and gives him a hug. "Thank you," she whispers and he nods, kissing her before taking off once again in the little bug, Emma in the passenger seat and smiling like an idiot._

She smiles at him, reaching over and kissing his cheek like she did before and opens the card. This one makes her cry, too, but this time different tears. Regretful ones. It makes her wish that she would've made him take her too when he went to fence the watches. He puts his hand on her back as she reads through it.

'Happy Valentine's Day,

I miss you and I hope that one day we'll be valentine's again, but something tells me that what I did to you can never, ever be forgiven. I'm sorry Emma. I love you. You're my everything.' the card reads. She shakes her head, wiping her eyes and standing up so she can actually hug him.

He looks at her when she leans back and kisses him hard on the lips, pulling her closer to him as she does so. She smiles at him when she lets go and he smiles at her. "Wanna be valentine's?" she asks, smiling from ear to ear.

Neal chuckles and kisses her once again, resting his forehead against her's when they pull apart. "Yeah, I do," he whispers.

 **Also, I don't think I've mentioned that my Instagram is . .ending if you guys wanna follow it. I'm just getting into editing so I'm not great at it but I hope I'll get better with practice. Please go follow it!**


	29. Talks and Pictures

**Requested by oncer4life11**

 **So, I got the picture idea (you'll see what I mean) from a one-shot I read a while ago but I don't remember what it was called. If anyone knows of one like this, let me know and I'll give that author credit but this is just my own little disclaimer here.**

 **Enjoy!**

They don't know why they're still up at midnight.

It could be because they're still getting over the fact that Henry's at his first sleepover while living with them at Grace's house or it might be because their only trained fighter's- Emma's parents- are on a date and will be spending the night at Granny's, leaving Emma and Neal alone with a sleeping baby and a silent house.

Emma walks over to the table from the counter, bringing over two mugs of hot cocoa before sitting down at the table next to Neal and proceeding to just stare at it until he says something to her. "Can we talk about something?" he asks and Emma looks up, nodding silently and sitting up all the way on her chair, both her hands wrapped around the warm mug.

He looks at the other end of the table for a minute, trying to figure out how to phrase this so that it doesn't offend her or sound wrong. "Why did you give Henry away?" he asks. That question is probably provoked by the fact that their son isn't with them that night. "I mean, best chance, yeah… but you said that you never wanted to give your child away. Why did you?" he asks, looking over at her as she tilts her head to the side and looks over at him.

She shakes her head, looking over at the door which is directly across from where she's sitting. She could get up and run away if she wanted to but she can't do that. Neal deserves to know why she gave him up as much as she does. "Because… I couldn't have been a mother. I never had one, I didn't have anything to go off of. I wouldn't have known what to do with him, especially because I didn't have an apartment or anything. I wasn't about to raise him in the back of a car," she says and he nods, looking down at the table.

She looks up at him and sees a question come across his face but he ultimately decides not to ask it, causing her to tilt her head to the side and smile a little bit. "You can ask me more about it, you know," she says, taking his hand. He looks up at her and then back down at their hands and smiles a little bit. "Wha- what was the worst part of it? Was there like a day that for some reason you just couldn't stop feeling bad about it or was it kinda something you just made yourself, you know… forget about?" he asks, almost guiltily and her eyes get wide before she begins explaining that.

Her hand lets go of his and goes back to join the other one, wrapped around the mug of cocoa and keeping her hands warm. "I never forgot about him. I think the worst day was on his birthday but that makes sense, I think. Knowing that they aren't really important in the foster system and that he could've been with me and be celebrating it, having fun instead of thinking about all the reasons why I might've given him away," she says and Neal nods, looking back down at the table as he realizes that he doesn't know what to say.

She looks up at him, smiling a bit instead of crying like both of them thought that she'd be- that they'd _both_ be. "But now it's the best day. Because I know that he got a good home and he was taken care of and cherished and he was happy. That's all I wanted for him, that's what he deserves… and I'm glad that we're able to be with him like we were supposed to be now instead of away from him," she says and he nods, beginning to stare at the curtains separating the living room and kitchen from the parents' bedroom.

She looks over at him and waits until he has another question to ask her. He comes up with one a few minutes later and turns to her. "Did you ever think about going to get him? Like finding him like you wished your parents found you?" he asks and Emma nods tilting her head to the side.

She looks over at him as he's making eye contact with _her_ now and she'd really like to keep it that way so it feels like she's talking to a person, not a wall. "I did. There were a few times that I just went and parked the car and sat outside the child services office until I was able to convince myself that he was probably with a good family and that what happened to me wasn't necessarily what was gonna happen to him," she says, glancing away every few seconds when she was gonna say something that she couldn't say to his face but had to say to him.

This time he's the one that reaches over and takes her hand, putting his hand over it as they continue their conversation like nothing's changed, the hand just being a little reminder for her that he's here now and he's not leaving. "Did you regret it after it happened?" he asks and she tilts her head to the side.

She shakes her head, closing her eyes as if to shield her from his reaction. He knows that's why she's doing this and squeezes her hand in encouragement and she opens her eyes, still avoiding his, though. "I didn't. I still really don't think I could've raised him on my own. Once I got to Storybrooke, there was a little while that he had me convinced that Regina didn't love him or care about him and I regretted it then. Once I realized that she did, though, all that regret went right back down the drain. She took care of him. If I raised him he would've grown up to be a murderer or something," she laughs and Neal does, too, shaking his head.

He looks over to her, squeezing her hand once again before leaning forwards and kissing her lightly. She blushes and looks down at the table before he continues asking questions. She chuckles a little bit, wondering if he was about to say they should go to bed or something and then changed his mind or if the kiss was one of encouragement just like him taking her hand. "Did they let you hold him?" he asks, practically gnawing on his lip in anticipation, knowing that even five minutes of that could've helped her move on immensely.

She nods and he lets out a short sigh of relief before continuing to listen to his girlfriend talk about their son. "For about ten minutes. They actually _made_ me hold him, I didn't want to. I thought that if I did, I would get too attached and not be able to go through with it," she says and he nods, seeing a few tears forming in her eyes.

He thinks that she might stop talking but she doesn't. "I remember that they brought him back in the room after cleaning him off and they handed him to me. For a minute, I wouldn't look at him because I thought the same thing would happen if I just saw what he looked like... if I saw that he was crying and he just wanted his mommy to take care of him that I would give in and have to keep him. After I looked at him, I was glad I did though. He looked just like you. He already had some brown hair and his eyes were exactly the same," she says, tears beginning to fall as she talks about that.

She thinks for a second before she tells him to wait for a second and disappears upstairs. She grabs her white box out from under her bed and gets the little cigar box from that one, carrying it downstairs. She opens it up once she's sitting at the table and hands him two photos. One was a sonogram, the copy that the doctor gave her because the machine was set to print two of them. The other picture was one that one of the nurses took of her holding Henry in the recovery room.

Never in all the time that she's known him has Emma seen Neal's eyes tear up so quickly just because of such simple things. She smiles and gets up, going behind his chair and wrapping her arms around his neck loosely. He leans back against her and she smiles, probably because she knows that he knows what the sonogram is but he doesn't know where everything is.

She smiles as he puts the other picture down and just looks at the sonogram, staring at it and beginning to look a little bit confused. She smiles and reaches over, pointing at a certain spot on the picture. "Right there," she says and he looks over there and he has an ah-ha moment, actually beginning to see what the picture was supposed to be of. "He's really little in this one, 'cause it was only about 8 weeks in," she says and Neal nods, smiling as he looks at the picture.

After a few minutes, he puts that one down and picks up the other one. He smiles sadly, knowing that if he would've been there, he would've probably been the one _taking_ that picture. She keeps her arms wrapped around him until he puts the pictures down, sighing and leaning back against the table.

"So… you can keep this one," she says, handing him the sonogram and smiling. He nods, taking out his wallet and putting the little picture in between the cards. "And, I will get a copy of this made," she says, picking up the other one and he nods reaching over and taking her hand back, this time just rubbing it up and down and not having anything to else to ask or to say.

He looks up at her after a few minutes, continuing to rub the back of her hand and she smiles at him. "I'm sorry," he says and she sighs exasperatedly.

She puts her hot cocoa down on the table, looking over at him and taking his hands instead of him having hers. "You've already apologized. Stop it," she says and he shakes his head, closing his eyes before looking back at her.

"But I am," he says and she shakes her head. "Okay, fine, I'll stop… for tonight. Let's go to bed," he says and she nods.

Later that night as they lay in bed, both of them still awake, Neal reaches down and kisses the top of her head. "You know I love you, right?" he asks, just making sure.

She nods, snuggling deeper into his chest and smiling. "I know. I love you, too," she says and he smiles, pulling her closer to them as they both begin to fall asleep.


	30. The Flying Monkeys

**So, I started writing this a while ago but had to post something so I just decided to finish it and put it here for you guys. I might not be able to post for the next week because I'm going on a vacation with my family for a little bit before we have school start back up here.**

 **I hope you enjoy this! Remember to leave a review if I should post a chapter with the shorter stories.**

Emma stands, walking away from Hook, who's still sitting on the floor after being knocked down by a flying monkey. She rushes towards her father after Regina pulls Zelena's pendant off. Emma watches David reach down and begin to pick up the baby. Emma watches, incredibly worried that she may have harmed her brother in some way when she lost her magic and was deemed unable to defeat the witch herself.

Suddenly, one of the flying monkeys swoops down behind her father, about to attack. David spins around, about to decapitate the monkey before he changes back into human form. "Neal?" Emma whispers, seeing the man she loves so much there, kneeling in front of her father with his sword beside his head.

Her father retracts the sword, shocked. He looks at the man for a second before he remembers about his son. "Neal!" Emma yells, just as her father turns around and goes to get her brother out of the basket Zelena had kept him in. Emma breaks into a run, nearly tackling Neal to the ground. She throws her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. She lets out a cry of relief before she starts breaking down in tears, holding onto him.

It might just be everything that's happened since he died, or possibly the overwhelming sense that she feels about needing to save everyone and not being able to but she knows that she really, really missed him. "You were dead," she cries and he just keeps his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly.

There may be more to the feelings she has right now than just wanting to be a hero. She would've cried at any point if this happened, not because she doesn't want him here but because she honestly needs him more than anybody or anything else. "I missed you," she mumbles once she's calmed down. She doesn't know what else to say besides asking him how he's still alive but she starts with the statement.

He turns his head to her neck, kissing it softly. "I missed you, too," he whispers, breaking the hug. She notices that he has a cut on his head, his breathing is way off and she processes that he winced when she leaned against him and brushed against his ribs. She decides not to say anything just yet. They are on their way to a hospital, anyway.

She keeps her arms slung over his shoulders, not ready to let go of him just yet. She sighs, leaning back into his arms once again, right before she remembers that it's easier to talk to him if she can actually see him. "What happened? I thought you died- I mean, I watched you die," she whispers and he shrugs. She shakes her head, not taking an 'I don't know' for an answer this time.

He sighs, wrapping his arms loosely around her so that he can still see her face, just knowing that he has some sort of hold on her. "I just know that Zelena took me captive before turning me into a monkey, that's it," he explains and she pulls him closer. She doesn't know exactly all that happened to him but she knows that being locked up, no matter what the circumstances, sucks.

She leans back, kissing his cheek multiple times. "I'm just glad you're back," she tells him, taking his hands in both of hers. She smiles lightly before releasing one of his hands and leading him out of the barn. She notices his arm go across his ribs and she squeezes his hand, helping him into the car and closing the door for him.

She goes around to the other side, sitting down in her seat and taking his hand as she followed her father in speeding to the hospital because while Neal was not dying, he was hurt and that was bad too, so she was going to make him get checked because that is what a good friend does, or even just a good _person_ does.

Once they get to the hospital, everything is still as chaotic as when they left. The dwarves are running around and trying to calm the scared civilians in the waiting room down, Whale is in the room with Mary Margaret trying to convince her that David would come back with their child, and the nurses are all rushing towards the doors and trying to get the people who got hurt into clinic rooms.

Emma and Neal have to go with Nurse Ratched. Originally, it was gonna be just Neal and they were gonna make Emma go in a separate room but she used some choice words while arguing with her so she got to go with them. Even though Emma really, truly hates that woman, she goes with Neal, not only because she has a feeling he hates her, too, but because she knows that neither of them like hospitals and being alone is something neither of them needs.

Emma goes to sit up on the board thingy with Neal while she waits for the nurse to come over and start doing whatever she was supposed to do. "Does anything hurt?" she asks, looking at the two of them.

Emma looks to Neal, who had begun to shake his head but then changes it to nodding once he registers the death glare. "Ribs hurt," he says and Emma chuckles, taking his hand while the nurse picks his shirt up and starts poking around. He doesn't say much, just grits his teeth and tells both of them to shut up whenever they ask him anything.

After about two or three minutes, the nurse looks up at him and shakes her head. "That's pretty bad, I'm gonna get Whale as a consult for that once he's done," she says, looking at Neal before moving over to Emma. "Does anything hurt?" she asks.

Emma tilts her head to the side. "My wrist and just a little bit, nothing too bad," she says and the nurse nods, taking her hand and tugging on it so that she can see what's wrong without Emma pulling away from her. "Broken?" Emma asks and the nurse shakes her head, letting go of it and walking to the cabinet, getting something out of it. "Sprained?" she asks and the nurse nods, handing her a black ace bandage to wear on it for the next few days.

She takes it and puts it on, knowing how to from previous injuries both at work before Storybrooke and in the foster system. "I'll go get Whale," the nurse says, leaving the room to go find the doctor because apparently handing someone an elastic bandage and sending them free is not something that the nurse is qualified to do.

He comes in a few minutes later, does the same thing that Nurse Ratched did and this time actually puts a bandage on it. "Ice pack, heat, whatever makes it feel better, do," he says and Neal nods, taking Emma's hand back once the doctor was done doing things to him. "Take the bandage off to shower, just be careful," he says and Neal nods once again. "You can go," he says and Emma finally nods, helping Neal off of the table before they go into the room her mother was in.

Emma peeks her head through the door, Neal following shortly behind her as they check to see if anyone's still there. "Hey," Emma whispers, not wanting to wake up the new baby if they're sleeping. They both walk in, going to stand by the end of the bed. "How are you feeling?" Emma asks and her mother just scoffs.

Emma smiles, chuckling a little bit before going to stand by the edge of the bed with Mary Margaret. "He's so little," she whispers, completely in awe. Sure, she's had a child before and she's seen a baby before but that was a long time ago and only while you're looking at an infant can you see how tiny and fragile they are.

Snow nods at that statement, looking up at Emma. "If I remember correctly you were smaller," she tells her and Emma's eyes go wide. She reaches over and touches the little baby lightly and he responds by grabbing onto her finger with his little hands. Emma smiles, chuckling quietly as he pulls on it as hard as a newborn can.

For this short time, everyone's happy. They all have a home and a family and they all won the battle against the Wicked Witch of the West. Now, all they have to do is celebrate the new addition to their already ginormous family.


	31. Not You, Never You

**Holy crap, this is long! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I'm on vacation. I'll be back soon and hopefully updating again. Enjoy!**

Emma pushes Neal's heart back into his chest with a grunt, holding Neal close to her as he cries out in pain. For a moment, she can't feel anything but overwhelming grief and worry that it may not have worked as well as she had hoped, but that goes away the second he relaxes. "You okay?" she asks him, holding him as close to her as she can, the way they were sitting.

The only accurate way to describe it is; she's sitting on the ground, her legs folded and to the side of her, and Neal resting against them, his head being supported by her shoulder. So, it's really not easy for them to hold onto each other. "Let's get you home. Your dad disappeared a few minutes ago," she tells him, and he nods, taking her hand in his and trying to sit up all the way.

The walk up to her car is longer than Emma remembers it being. There are too many bumps and broken tree stumps, and it's slippery, and it's just awful. She almost falls twice, and Neal notices that, going to grab her hand both times so that she doesn't _actually_ fall. Then, he makes her let him drive back to the apartment because there's no way he's letting her do it right then.

They get back, and Emma disappears into the bathroom, making Neal have to sit out in the living room by himself, hoping that nobody else gets home before she comes out. It feels like a long time before she gets back, but that might just be because it's awkward sitting in someone else's home without them really being there.

She comes out of the bathroom, wiping her face and going into the kitchen to make some hot cocoa. "You okay? You were in there for a while," he says, watching as she puts the mugs into the microwave. He doesn't want to be rude or anything, but it kind of feels like that is a rude question.

She sets the timer and turns around to face him, walking to the counter and leaning against it. "I'm fine… I threw up…. I promise I'm fine! Don't worry," she tells him, and he looks over at her as she takes out the mugs of milk from the microwave.

She takes the chocolate powder over to talk to him, ripping open the packets and pouring on in each of the mugs. "I'm worrying. Are you sick? Are you…?" he asks, and she looks up at him wide eyed.

"No!" she practically yells at him, and he nods, mumbling a response. He takes the mug that he hands her and takes a sip out of it. "You know, I'm just go-" she says, incapable of finishing her sentence as she runs back to the bathroom, not closing the door behind her, which allowed Neal to get to her.

He puts his hand on her back, taking her hair back and tying it with the rubber band on the counter. He rubs her back in circles, whispering sweet little things to her. She calms down for a minute and moves back, leaning against the cool edge of the bathtub.

Neal flushes the toilet and follows her, going to sit beside her. "Are you sure you're not sick? Are you scared of something? Do you feel bad that I almost died, or like… do you wish you hadn't saved me?" he asks, facing towards her, who was still facing towards the toilet, just in case what she thought was the last of it, wasn't.

She became more alert at that, looking over at him and sitting up straight. She took his hand in hers and shook her head. "No, I'm glad I saved you!" she says with as much enthusiasm as she can muster up. "I don't know why… I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered, and Neal nodded, looking over at her as she closed her eyes and tried not to start crying.

That is when he knows that there is, in fact, something actually wrong with her. Emma doesn't just start crying for no reason, and that was what made him start thinking. "I'm calling Regina," he mutters, pulling his phone out of his back pocket and dialing Regina's number.

Emma isn't paying any attention to the conversation, and she is glad she doesn't care because she honestly can't hear it. She can hear Neal's voice, but it sounded like it was echoing. Like they were standing really far away from each other in a cave. She knows that they're arguing for a minute, and then he's saying okay to her and hanging up.

He puts his phone down on the edge of the bathtub and moves closer to her, taking her hand in his. He puts his hand on her arm as he presses the back of the other one to her forehead, wanting to just _check_ and make sure that she's not running a fever. "Gods, Emma," he whispers, noticing just how clammy she feels. He stands up and looks through the drawers in the bathroom for a thermometer, or just _something_ to let him know that she's not dying.

It would sound stupid to anyone else that he told that to, but it wasn't to him. This is serious. He doesn't know how magic works, he doesn't know exactly what she could've done to herself trying to save him. He just knows that his father told her that she would be fine. He finds a thermometer and goes back to her.

He crouches down beside her on the ground and puts his hand on the side of her face, holding it still. He puts the thermometer in her ear gently, not wanting to hurt her, but also wanting to get a reading. "Stay still," he whispers gently as she starts trying to pull away from him. Finally, the little plastic thingy beeps and he takes it out of her ear, looking at it.

98.9.

It's not like that's too far off of what it's normally supposed to be, but he would figure that since she's always cold, that would be a fever. He shakes his head, trying not to have a breakdown of his own right there in the bathroom. Either way, it's not like Emma would probably even notice, but he feels like he needs to be strong for her.

This is overwhelming, though! This isn't something he's used to, he's never done this before! It's too scary for him, and that's saying something because he doesn't get scared too easily. When something is trying to hurt Emma, though, that's when he gets really scared. But, she needs him right now.

So, he does all he knows to do. He sits there and he tells himself exactly what he's gonna do, and it sure isn't gonna be having a breakdown on a bathroom floor. He's gonna count to five. He's gonna count to five, and by the time that his five seconds are done, he isn't gonna let himself do this crap. He's not gonna be _scared_ anymore- or, he's not gonna act like it.

He takes a deep, shuddery breath and looks at Emma. _One._

He closes his eyes tightly, thinking about how Henry's face would light up when he gets his memories back and sees his dad again. _Two._

He remembers what it felt like to watch his father die, and swears to himself that he absolutely will not let that happen to Emma. _Three._

He remembers the wall that he told her to wait by all those years ago before he left her, and vows to never, ever leave her again. _Four._

He thinks about how Emma's face lights up when she gets really excited, and he makes a promise to himself and to her in his mind that he will see that happen again. He will see her happy again. _Five._

His shoulders relax, his hand gets heavier on top of hers, and suddenly, he's not afraid anymore. She's gonna be fine. He'll give his life back if he has to, but Emma Swan is not gonna die today. Not if he can help it.

Then, the front door opens. Neal sits up, backing away from Emma and leaning his head outside the room, only to find Regina standing there. She gets into the room, seeing Emma sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the bathtub and seeing her look the weakest she had ever seen her and Neal looking… well, like Neal.

Regina walking in front of Emma, kneeling in front of her on the tile. She knows that Emma's listening when her eyes focus on her. "Are you sick?" she asks, and Emma shakes her head, looking up at her as Regina sits in front of her. "Are you pregnant?" she asks, and Emma just rolls her eyes in a very Emma-like fashion and shakes her head. "Are you sure about both of those?" she asks, and Emma nods.

Regina sighs, her eyebrows furrowing as she thinks about what to do before she reaches behind Emma's ear and presses on it. "Ow! What are you doing?" she asks weakly, her nose crinkling up.

Regina sighs, giving both of them a look that says 'stupids,' and looks over at Neal. "It's her magic," she says, looking over at the shower curtain behind Emma. "That's the center of it. It's there for everybody. Her's is weak. She performed a task she couldn't handle. You can't fix that. Just rest for now, and practice later. She'll be fine. There's no way she'll die from this," she says, and Neal nods, thanking Regina as she walks out of the room.

He moves over to Emma, who has since moved back over to the toilet because she was not in fact done earlier. "You good?" he asks, when she's apparently done once again, and he takes her into his arms, picking her up and taking her over to the couch. "I'm gonna call Mary Margaret," he says, laying her down on the couch and standing to go get his phone off the edge of the bathtub.

He's filled with a sudden wave of worry. What if they hate him after this? What if they make him leave Emma here by herself? The phone starts ringing, and he knows that there's no turning back now. If he hangs up, they'll come home after they see that he called them. "Hey, so, something happened," he says, shooting a worried glance over at Emma, who was lying down on the couch.

Snow sighs into the phone, and Neal can already hear the faint sound of the car running on the road. "We know, Regina told us. Are you both okay? How's Emma?" she asks, and Neal starts pacing around in the living room, not knowing what to say. "That good, huh?" she chuckles, and Neal makes a noise that tells her that she's right. "Okay… you can take her into our room if you want, or she can just stay on the couch, it doesn't matter to us," she says looking over at David.

Neal exhales deeply, looking over at Emma. "Okay. I think I'll just keep her on the couch until you get home, and then you can tell me where to put her. Will you be home soon?" he asks, and Snow makes the 'uh-huh' noise thing. He nods, looking back at Emma once again. "Okay. See you soon," he says, and Snow hangs up the phone.

He walks back over to Emma, sitting on the coffee table beside her and taking her hand, brushing her hair back and noticing how clammy she feels, yet again. Every time he does, it's like a freaking nightmare. He _did_ this to her. She's shaking, too. He doesn't know how long she's been doing that for, but he knows he needs to make it stop.

He stands up a little bit, just enough to reach the blanket on the back of the couch and tuck it around her tightly. He then stands up, going to get the thermometer from the bathroom, but she grabs his hand. He can tell just from the look in her eyes that she is _not_ feeling so good at _all._ "Don't leave me," she _whimpers,_ and he's inclined to just sit right back down on the coffee table and hold her hand, but he knows he can't.

He shakes his head, sitting back down for a minute and the hair that was stuck to her forehead because she was sweating so much off of her head so he can see her face clearer. "I'm not. I gotta go get the thermometer from the bathroom really quick, but I promise I'll be back in less than a minute," he tells her, but she shakes her head weakly, mumbling a 'no,' but he nods, getting up.

As promised, he's back within a minute and he's holding her hand, reassuring her that he's _there_ and he's not leaving her. He picks up the thermometer off of where he set it on the coffee table and moves closer to her, brushing her hair off of her ear so that he could take her temperature again.

99.3. Still, that was hardly a real fever, but he was still really, really worried. _She can't die because of this. This will not kill her._ Neal nearly throws the thermometer back down on the table, and Emma flinches, reaching out to grab his hand. "What's wrong with me?" she asks weakly, looking up at him fearfully.

He shakes his head, his hands going around hers as he looks at her. "Nothing, love. You just used too much magic for you to handle," he whispers, and she nods, pulling on his arm to get him to come down there and lay with her. "No, no. Not right now, Em. You have a fever, you have to cool down," he whispers, going to kiss her on the forehead. He stands up for a minute, moving the coffee table back so he can sit on the floor beside her.

Snow and David get home a few minutes after that, seeing the two of them right beside each other in the corner of the room. A very, very pregnant Snow walked over them, not knowing what exactly to do with herself besides just watch. "You okay?" she asks them, and Emma shrugged, looking at the ceiling. "Anything I can do?" she asks, and Emma looks over at Neal.

Neal then looks up at Snow, not wanting to make Emma's mom do too much, because they really didn't need too much, but he thought of something. "A water? Oh, and a wet cloth," he asks, and Snow nods, walking over to the kitchen to get him a water and a cold, wet cloth that she assumes is for Emma's forehead.

Neal looks up at Emma and closes his eyes tightly, squeezing her hand. Snow walks over with a wet cloth and hands it to Neal, who folds it neatly before getting up and sitting on the edge of the couch, placing it on her forehead. Emma winces at the cold, trying to make it fall by turning her head. "Em, no- Hey…" he whispers, seeing her eyes filling up with tears.

Honestly, he was expecting it to happen at some point, but not just because of a wet cloth. "Look at me," he whispers, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "It's just cold. I'm not gonna hurt you," he whispers, and she reaches up, trying to pull him to her. He leans over and wraps his arms around her protectively. "I won't let anything hurt you," he whispers, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Snow walks over at turns on the fan, hoping to circulate air through the apartment better and cool Emma down, before going over to them. "You can bring her in here, the AC works better," she says, pointing over to their room. Neal hesitates, looking over at David. "It's not like she'll be stuck in there, she can go upstairs tonight when we need our bedroom," she says, smiling brightly. It's funny because it's so obvious that she wants them in there, but he still really doesn't wanna bother Emma's parents.

He sighs, looking turning around to look at Emma and pick her up. "I'm gonna pick you up, okay?" he asks, and Emma nods, her arms going around his neck loosely as he picks her up gently, carrying her into her parents' room and laying her down on the bed. He sits on the side of the bed beside her, picking up the cloth that fell into her lap while they were walking and placing it right back on her head.

Emma then reaches up for him, wanting him to come lay down beside her. "Neal," Snow calls from the doorway where she's standing. 'Do it,' she mouths just before turning around and leaving the room. Neal sighs, helping Emma move over before lying down beside her.

She moves over so that she's next to him, and taps on his chest, just like she used to do. He chuckles, helping her up so that she was lying practically on top of him. He's fine with that because it keeps her warm, it's comfortable for both of them, and she feels safe. She likes it because she can feel his whole body moving a little bit every time he breathes.

It only takes a few minutes for her to pass out, and he then moves her over, going to talk to Snow. He doesn't exactly make it out of the room before he hears her moving around because of a nightmare and he has to go and wake her up. "Emma," he calls out to her in her sleep, shaking her arm.

She wakes up and her eyes get wide as she starts using the little strength she has to get him away from her. "Let go of me! Get out!" she shrieks, and both Snow and David come rushing in to make sure everything's okay.

Neal holds her still for a minute, his hands gripping her wrists and holding her down so that she can't hurt anyone, but she keeps struggling. "Emma, hey. Hey, it's okay. It's me. Nobody's gonna hurt you," he whispers, and she relaxes under his hands and just breaks down sobbing. He lets go of her wrists and moves to her back, picking her up and bringing her over so that she's sitting on his lap.

Still, she's shaking, sobbing… she's obviously still frightened. Snow and David just leave the room, not knowing what'll happen if she sees them. "It's okay, it's okay. Hold onto me, I won't let anyone get you," he whispers, cradling her head with his hand. His other hand goes under her legs, resting on her side to keep her there.

After a few minutes, she forces herself out of his arms and bolts straight to the bathroom. He sighs, standing up and following her, pulling her hair back once again. He rubs her back, waiting for her to stop it and she leans back against the bathtub. He flushes the toilet and looks over at her, seeing her still sobbing, just now in a different state. He thought that she was feeling better, but he was obviously wrong. "How about you take a shower, okay? It might make you feel better to get cleaned up," he says, and she shakes her head. He looks at her confusedly, moving over to her. He puts his hand on her back, rubbing it softly and letting her lean against him until she wants to move away. "Come on, Em," he whispers, standing and taking her hands in his, helping her up.

He goes to the shower, setting it to go at a nice and cool stream, but not too cold, and he begins to leave the room. "Where're you goin'?" she asks, watching after him. He looks at her like she's completely lost her mind, and points out. "Stay," she whispers, but he just shakes his head. "Neal, please," she begs, walking closer to him.

He avoids her eyes, looking someplace behind her and sighing. "I'll leave and let you get dressed. You hit the door when you're behind the curtain and I'll come back," he tells her, and she nods, closing the door behind him. A few seconds later- a minute at most- he hears a loud tap on the door and opens it slowly, closing it behind him and locking it.

Neal walks over to the counter, sitting on top of it while he waits for her. When she turns the water off and reaches behind the curtain to grab a towel, he slowly opens the door, and lets her know that he's leaving the room. She gets dressed quickly, wanting to be with him as soon as she can.

She opens the door, walking out of the bathroom in her pajamas. Neal smiles at her as soon as she appears outside the door. He walks over to take her dirty clothes and throws them into the laundry basket.

She walks over to the dresser and grabs her hairbrush off of it, about to go back into the bathroom to brush it in the mirror, but Neal walks over to her, smiling. "I can do that," he offers, and she nods, smiling and handing it to him.

He takes her hand, leading her over to the bed, He sits down behind her, taking the brush and combing through her hair with it as gently as he can. He finishes, and she nods, giving him a short peck on the lips in thanks on her way to put the brush back on the dresser. He takes her hand, pulling her back to him when she gets back to the bed.

She leans against his chest, and closing her eyes lightly. She tightens her arms around him, he reaches around her and begins to notice small little improvements in the state she's in. She's not crying anymore, which probably helped her temperature go down along with the cold shower. She's shaking a little bit harder, though. She's not as clammy but he figures that that's another effect of the shower.

He pulls the blanket up on the bed, tucking it around her tightly and wrapping his arm back around her. Her hand rests against his chest as he slowly tries to back away from her, not wanting to be too close and have her get too warm. "Why are you doing that? Stop it," she whines, pulling herself back over to him. He sighs and she looks up at him. "I don't feel good. Please don't push me away," she whispers and that's when his walls crash down and he gives in, wrapping his other arm around her.

They lay in bed until it's time for Snow and David to go to bed and Neal carries Emma upstairs to her bedroom. "There we go," Neal grunts, laying Emma down on the bed before going to lay beside her. She grips onto his shirt as he does so. Her temperature is beginning to rise again and her skin is getting more and more clammy with every passing minute.

After a few minutes, Neal begins getting more and more worried because while this itself might not be able to kill her, a brain melting fever might. He goes downstairs and grabs a bag of corn from the freezer, wrapping a cloth around it. He runs upstairs and helps her sit up. He ties her hair up in the world messiest bun before he puts the bag under her neck and helps her lay back down.

He sits beside the bed in an office chair but Emma's barely aware enough to notice. She reaches over and grabs his hand, hers shaking as he squeezes it. "It's gonna be okay, Em. Just try to rest," he whispers, moving the chair closer to her head, wiping some loose strands of hair from her face.

She looks up at him as he kisses her forehead. Her eyes are wide and her hands are shaking in his as he leans back, sitting back down on the chair. "Don't leave me," she whispers and he nods, squeezing her hand tightly.

He brings it up to his lips, kissing it gently before beginning to rub the back of it. "Never, honey," he whispers, holding her hand until he falls asleep and eventually he does too, still sitting in the office chair.


	32. Hold On

**Here's a few things about this chapter-**

 **This is an idea that came to me while listening to the song Amistad by The Fray. It's the live version at the** **Elysée Montmartre if you want to go listen to it.**

 **I've had the idea of Emma calling Neal 'bub' for a while and it might look weird but when I'm thinking about it, it kinda sounds cute to me… let me know if it's not. I just think that because Neal calls Emma lots of different things, pet names and nicknames and things like that. Emma can't really make up a nickname for Neal because his name isn't really nickname-able and he already uses the pet names for** _ **her,**_ **so I figured she had to have called him** _ **something**_ **while they were together.**

 **This chapter is a bit more graphic than the others because it takes place when Zelena had Rumple captive and instead of Rumple, what if Neal was the only one being held so that she could use him for leverage against the hero gang? Enjoy!**

Neal sits in the cage, his hands and legs tied to the chair and a gag in his mouth. He begins trembling as he hears the door creak open and the room lights up. He hears a gun cock and his eyes widen as he begins trying to find a way out, yet again.

The footsteps down the staircase get louder and louder and Neal starts panicking more and more, eventually knocking the chair over. He closes his eyes tightly, seeing the light turn on through his closed eyes. "Neal?" a voice asks. He continues to shake as whoever the voice belongs to goes to the lock, hitting it again and again, making him wince each time until the lock breaks off.

For a moment after whoever it was had first spoken, he thought that it might be Emma coming to save him but then remembered that Emma didn't know he was here and even if Emma knew he was here, she wouldn't come to save him. She wished he was dead. She even _told_ him that. Besides, even if it was her, he wouldn't be able to tell. He could barely remember what her voice sounded like.

The footsteps get louder and louder and he can see the light being blocked out, probably by the person that was there. He continues to shake, short whimpers coming out of his mouth. He feels a hand on his cheek and then another one, both of them carefully removing the gag from his mouth.

Then they reach down, undoing the binds on his hands and then the ones on his legs. They help him sit up and he moves back, going back to the corner of the cage without opening his eyes, afraid to see who it is. "Neal, baby," he hears her whisper but he doesn't care. He covers his eyes with his hands, his legs going up to protect his chest.

Footsteps approach him and whoever it is kneels down, wrapping their arms around him. He doesn't do anything, he just continues to sit like that, in a ball and afraid of what will happen if he returns the embrace. "It's me," they whisper, leaning back and putting their hands on his knees gently. "It's Emma," she whispers but he doesn't believe her.

He just continues to cover his eyes up, his eyes still closed as well. She picks her hands up, wrapping them around his wrist and carefully pulling them away from his face. "Look at me, bub. It's me," she whispers, her voice breaking as she speaks. He slowly opens his eyes once again, blinking to adjust to the light.

He's still shaking as he realizes that it _is_ her. It is his Emma and she's here. She came to get him. She smiles sadly at him and he looks up at her. For a minute, he looks up at her in shock before she wraps her arms back around him, this time with him returning the hug.

He tries so hard to keep himself together, to pretend that nothing has happened to him while she's been gone, that he always knew that she would come and save him from this wicked witch but it only works for so long. He starts sobbing violently, his hands gripping the back of her shirt.

There's not much going through her mind that isn't questions about what happened to him but there is one thing that is. _Why would anyone hurt him?_ He had never hurt anybody on purpose, not even Hook and he _hated_ Hook. After a few minutes her phone starts buzzing and she leans back.

Emma's hands take his and she looks him in the eyes, taking this moment to look over him and see exactly what's changed. There are little cuts covering his face and neck and a large one on his cheek. His eyes are sad and afraid, not filled with the usual light that they possess. His whole body is shaking violently in fear, probably that whoever it is, it's not herself.

She then looks back up at him, squeezing his hands. "Come on, bub. Let's get you home," she whispers, helping him up as best as she can and wrapping her arm around him, letting him use her as a crutch as they walk out to her car, speeding off back to her parents' house.

She looks over at him, taking his hand and squeezing it, noticing that even though they've left the farm house, he's still trembling in fear. He looks over at her before looking down at the ground, inhaling shakily as they pull into their apartments parking lot.

She helps him up the staircase, leading him into the room. Snow and David both rush to the door, helping him over to the couch and though Snow is extremely pregnant, she goes into nurse mode and begins inspecting Neal for major injuries while Emma grabs him an ice pack and brings it over to him.

The second that Snow touches his ribs he cries out and Emma rushes over to the couch. She puts the ice pack on the coffee table, leaving it there for Snow to use when she needs it. Her mother lets go of Neal, pulling her hands away when he attempts to pull away from her. Tears begin falling once again and Snow gets up to go and call Dr. Whale, assuming that he might have more experience treating people with PTSD, which is probably what's wrong with Neal.

Meanwhile, Emma sits with Neal, sitting on her knees on the couch so she's up higher than he is. She pulls him against her gently, leaving room for him to push her away if he wants to. He doesn't pull away but instead pushes himself closer to her, breaking down crying again. "It's okay, bub. It's okay, it's okay," she whispers, reaching her hand up and cradling the back of his head against her chest.

She continues to hold him long past he's stopped crying, letting go only when Whale gets there and needs to examine him. She moves away, sitting beside him and taking his hand, rubbing it comfortingly as Whale pokes and prods at his ribs. Then there's looking for infected cuts, eventually finding a giant scrape across his left side and putting peroxide on it before putting a bandage over it.

Ultimately, Whale decides the best thing he can do without giving him a cast that wraps around the whole top half of his body is giving him a bandage that'll wrap around his ribs before leaving and telling him to clean his cut every day and change the bandage. Emma takes care of that much, writing it down on a piece of paper before going to sit back beside him on the couch.

Emma begins cleaning up the dirt and dried blood from his face with a wet washcloth while Snow makes them some hot cocoa. Neal's hand wraps around Emma's, one of her hands not on his face. When Snow comes over she smiles at them before turning to Emma alone. "Has he said anything yet?" she asks and Emma shakes her head. "Is he responding to anything?" she asks and Emma nods, looking over at Neal and squeezing his hand before he does it back to her.

Snow walks away, clearly still having questions that Emma would be able to answer but not wanting to ask them, knowing that the answers won't make sense. The first question would probably be 'have you asked him if he's okay?' to which Emma would respond saying that she knows he isn't or he would be talking. The next would be why she didn't take him straight to the hospital and that would be because she knows that nothing's too bad if he's still breathing okay.

The next would be why she hasn't sent him home yet and that would be because he needs the reassurance that nothing bad is going to happen to him and that people love him more than anything in the world and that Emma will be with him through everything.

So that night as they lay in bed, Emma tangled up with him and him tangled up with Emma, he wraps his arms around her and says something for the first time in God knows how long. "Thank you," he rasps and she looks up at him. "For saving me. It means a lot," he says and Emma nods, settling back down into his chest. "I love you so much, Emma," he whispers and she smiles reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

She begins to speak back but he begins to do so once again before she can. "Please don't give up on me yet. I'm gonna try to get better after this, I just need help and time," he whispers, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

She smiles sadly, moving up on the bed and resting her head on his shoulder. "I won't. I love you, too and I'm not going to give up on you. I've been where you are before. I know what this is, I know how scared you are. I'm not going to give up on you, you mean too much to me," she whispers, reaching up and kissing him once again.

They both fall asleep in each other's arms that night, despite Whale's orders to keep pressure off of his ribs for a few hours, because they love each other too much to be separated after such a great ordeal, even if it's just while they're asleep and unaware.


	33. Neal's Nickname

**Here's a bit of a backstory on a new element much like the whole 'Em' thing. I thought it would be a cute little nickname, let me know if it's not. Enjoy!**

They had just started dating two weeks ago.

It wasn't like they weren't very couple-ly or anything because they were- but _Emma_ wasn't very open to the idea of being all cutesy and all of that. So, the day when she actually gave him a nickname that wasn't something offensive, he was absolutely shocked to the point that he was afraid that she was getting sick.

It was one of the few nights that they were able to break into a motel room, something that they were incredibly thankful for because they weren't normally able to go and sleep someplace that wasn't the bug.

Emma had gotten in the shower first because Neal said that he wouldn't do it until she did like he said with most things that were overly exciting or even _good._ He went in after her and then they went to bed, both of them lying beside each other on the creaky old motel bed that they were actually _happy_ to have.

Both of them fell asleep right away, facing each other and only holding onto each other with their intertwined hands. It was surprising that they were able to fall asleep so quickly after not having been able to eat anything besides a shared bag of trail mix earlier in the day but they probably didn't think much of it.

What wasn't surprising was that they were awake again at three thirty that morning. Both of them had a lot of nightmares and there hadn't been a night yet that one of them didn't wake up plagued with one. Normally, it would wake up the other, much like it did tonight.

Emma woke up to the bed shaking. For a minute she was confused, wondering if Portland was even supposed to _have_ earthquakes until she realized that it wasn't the ground shaking but it was her boyfriend thrashing around with a nightmare.

She pushed herself up on her elbow, seeing that he had fallen back onto his back and his hand had been separated from hers. She got in front of him, shaking the shoulder farthest away from her. "Neal, wake up," she whispered but he doesn't do so. Instead, he continued thrashing around against the sheets, rocking the bed and scaring the crap out of Emma.

It wasn't like this wasn't something that she didn't deal with every night but that didn't mean that she liked seeing him in so much pain to the point that he would even experience it in his sleep which was supposed to be a time when your thoughts left you and you weren't hurting for that amount of time each day.

She continues shaking him, calling out his name until she's in tears, not knowing what else to do for him besides leave him alone but she knows she can't do that. He wouldn't do that to her, so she can't do that to him. "Neal, come on. Wake up," she practically screams at him and he shudders, his eyes opening and tears beginning to fall from his eyes as well.

Emma reaches down and wraps him up in her arms, her arms going around him tightly. For a second she can tell that he's shocked, probably because he might've forgotten that she was there, or possibly because he didn't think that she would want to comfort him or that she might not be there for him.

Either way, he starts crying, not a loud crying but a soft one, almost as if he's ashamed of it. She holds him tightly, his arms going around her as well, holding her down with him. Normally, he would let her get up and leave because he wanted her to be happy but right now he needed her to be there with him. If she wanted to go away tomorrow, that would be fine but right now he needed her to take care of him like he took care of her.

As the cries started getting louder, she moved her hand to the back of his head, cradling it as she sat up a little bit better, bringing him with her and he leaned against her shoulder, tears falling from his eyes and soaking the shirt that she was wearing, the one that was actually his. "Neal, it's okay," she reassured, pulling him closer to her than he was before. "You're safe, bub. You're safe," she whispered.

At that moment he pulled away from her, wiping his eyes and the tears stopped. He chuckled at her and smiled, looking over at her, still hold onto her a little bit, his hands holding hers. "Bub?" he asks, smiling a little bit and chuckling and looking her in the eyes. He wasn't making fun of her, it was more of a confusion. Emma was _not_ one to give people nicknames, especially affectionate ones over offensive ones.

She tilted her head to the side and scrunched her nose up, deciding if she liked it while she spoke. "What, you don't like it? It's fine if you don't, it's what _you're_ gonna be called and that was kinda spontaneous, I'm not sure where it came from," she said and he chuckled, a certain love in his eyes becoming more and more clear and bright.

He shook his head, making her stop talking and she held her breath, waiting for him to respond. "I like it. It's cute," he told her, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. She blushed, looking down at the blankets and smiling.

She then looked up at him, realizing that for just a moment, she had forgotten how and why they were both awake so late at night. "Are you okay?" she asked and he let out a sharp breath, closing his eyes and nodding. "Are you sure?" she asked and he nodded, opening his eyes and looking over at her. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked but he shook his head and leaned back into her arms, resting his forehead against her shoulder.

She wrapped her arms back around him, smiling softly and closing her eyes for a second before turning her head to the side and kissing his. "It's okay, bub. Whatever it was, it wasn't real. Even if it was at some point, it's over now. You're here and you're safe," she whispered and he nodded, closing his eyes lightly.

He suddenly felt himself getting more and more tired and Emma's shoulder began to feel more and more comfortable. She smiled, turning back around so that she was against the back of the bed, laying down slowly and he went with her, laying with his head on her shoulder. She smiled as his breathing steadied and he fell asleep in her arms, finally feeling safer and safer.

The nickname stuck, too. It wasn't as common as when he called her 'Em' or some other pet name but it was still often enough for it to be something that was considered a nickname up until they were no longer together.

Eleven years later, lying in bed after Neal had had yet another near death experience that day, that topic came up again. Snow put had made them go upstairs and rest, seeing as Neal wouldn't do it without Emma and he absolutely did need to go and rest to get his energy back.

Emma lays with her head against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist and his arms wrapped around her in no particular order, kind of just thrown around her but somehow still protectively. "Neal?" Emma asks, looking up at him and he looks down at her, his arms tightening around her as he hears the uncertainty in her voice.

She looks over at him and smiles, her cheeks turning red as she thinks about her next question. "Can I start calling you 'bub' again?" she asks and he laughs, nodding and pulling her up to him so that he can kiss her on the cheek, much like he had the first time that the nickname came up.


	34. You, Not Him

**I miss the reviews, guys! I'm gonna be in the car for the next two days so I might not be updating much unless I can get something written in the hotel. I hope you enjoy this little last minute story!**

Emma wasn't good at being with people. Everyone knew that. Neal knew that, her parents' knew that, Henry knew that, the whole town knew that.

It wasn't because she didn't want to be and it wasn't because she just preferred solitude, but it was because she was scared to give someone the impression that she belonged to them and that they could tell her what to do. That might have also had to do with the reasons she never listened to anybody, but that was beside the point.

The first day that Emma told Neal that she was with him and that she was his was on a Friday. They had been running around all day, both of them going to different places and stopping to help people in different ways and she had run into Killian. Emma had been with Killian before for about two or three months before she realized that she had chosen the wrong guy and broke up with him.

Since then, Hook had been in and out of town, going to travel the realms and find a real cure for dream shade, hoping that once he did he would be able to inform the rest of the Lost Boys on Neverland and nobody else would suffer the fate that Liam had. She spent a little time with him and talking in Granny's before she decided that it was time to go and got up, leaving him to sit in his booth by himself.

Neal had come by when she was talking to him, and for whatever reason, he felt a pang of jealousy. Yes, he knew that Emma broke up with Killian to be with him, but that was almost a year ago. What if she'd changed her mind? He knew that he couldn't tell her what to do and that he wasn't the boss of her, that he didn't _own_ her, but he wished that she was his again instead of with the stupid pirate.

He looked down at the counter as he picked up his coffee and left Emma with her ex-boyfriend, the one that had stolen his mother away from him and was now taking the love of his life, as well. He walked down the street to the sheriff's station and sat at his desk, taking out his drink and filling out his paperwork, trying not to think about the way he could hear his heart shatter in his chest at the diner.

He turned around as he heard the door open, seeing Emma walk through the doors of the station and go over to his desk, sitting on top of it much like she had done many times before. "Hey," she said, sitting up on the desk and looking over at Neal, who nodded at her before going right back to his paperwork.

That's when Emma was automatically able to tell that something was wrong. Neal was normally one to go into a conversation about anything and everything, especially when he had paperwork to finish. "What's up? You're being quiet," she said and looked over at him, half-tempted to reach across the table and steal his pen out of his hand when he didn't even look up at her, instead just sat and shook his head. "Hey, seriously," she says, closing the little paperwork booklet and looking over at him. "What's going on?" she asks and he looks at his desk, closing his eyes and leaning back against his chair.

She waits for him to look up at her before she reaches over and takes his hand. He looks over at the clock before looking back at her. She looks at him promptingly, waiting for him to give her an answer. "You were with Hook," he says and her eyes widen. She chuckles a little bit and she nods, looking over at him. "Why?" he asks and she tilts her head to the side, closing her eyes tightly for a second before she responds to him.

She looks over at him and shakes her head, squeezing his hand tightly and closing it in her other hand, as well. "I'm not with him. You know why I broke up with him. We were just catching up," she says, looking him in the eyes and he nods, looking down at the desk drawer to avoid her eyes. "Why don't you like him?" she asks and he shakes his head, looking back up at her. She squeezes his hand tightly in both of hers, awaiting a story as to why he considers Hook to be the devil's incarnation.

He looks up at her and she nods, smiling at him encouragingly before he begins to tell her what's going on with the pirate. "He's the one who took my mother away. He took her with him on some quest and she never came home. I ran into him a while later and he took me in until I found out and he dropped me in Neverland after I used a few choice words to describe what I thought of him," he says and Emma looks at him with her eyes wide.

Then, he can literally see the lightbulb go off in her head and she looks down at the ground, much like she does when she's thinking or talking about something that matters to her. "That's why you don't want me to be around him. It's because you're afraid like he'll take me away from you and Henry like he did with your mom," she says and he looks down at the desk drawer once again, nodding a short response before she looks up at him and sighs, looking him in the eyes and sighing.

She reaches over and cups his cheek in the palm of her hand, smiling sadly at him. He leans into her hand a little bit and she rubs his cheek with her thumb. "I'm not gonna go with him. I'm staying here with you. I'm your's, not his. He can't have me. I won't let him take me away from you, no matter how bad it gets here," she promises, hopping off of his desk and wrapping her arms around his side, closing her eyes and sighing. "You're my home, not him. I love you, not him," she whispers and he nods, reaching up to wipe away a few tears that had collected in his eyes over a few minutes.

He reaches over and kisses her cheek before responding to her as best he can without breaking down into a blubbering mess. "I love you, too," he whispers, taking her hand and kissing it before reaching up and planting butterfly kisses across her face. She smiles, giggling a little bit and getting up to go and grab her paperwork before joining him at her desk with her coffee and paperwork to fill out.


	35. Road Trip

**This part was only written because I'm on a road trip and this idea has been with me the whole time. Enjoy!**

There was only one thing that was appealing about going on a road trip with her entire family. Everyone knew that they only reason she even agreed to go was that she knew that if the whole family was going, Neal would be there.

They had been spending the last few weeks talking and getting closer together to the point where she was confused whether or not they were best friends or if they were sort-of dating. Maybe it was both? She couldn't tell. She just knew that she was stupid in love with him either way and that wasn't going to change.

To top it all off, her mother put the two of them in the back seat together, which was totally against her better judgment and totally with David's. It was either that or she would be next to Hook and Neal would be with Henry but Emma had vetoed that the second it was suggested on the little seating chart that was apparently necessary for this Charming-family road trip.

The second they got in the car, they were all over each other, laughing hysterically at old memories and cuddling up together to keep warm with the AC blowing at full power from the vents. After a few minutes, they found themselves leaning in a way that looked awkward but was actually really comfortable.

Neal was leaning against the window and the cup holder, one of the pillows from in the trunk behind his back and Emma was leaning against him, her head resting on his chest and her hand resting below it. "What are we even doing right now?" Neal chuckled and Emma just laughed, resting her head down and cuddling up further into his arms.

Within just a few minutes she was falling asleep, his hand moving to rest on top of hers. She smiled as her eyes closed and she slowly fell asleep. Snow looked to the back of the car through the rearview mirror, smiling at the sight of Neal reaching over and grabbing his sweatshirt from the backseat and draping it over Emma's shoulders as she began to shiver.

The trip was going to take a long time, seeing as they were going to try to drive from Maine to the beach in California. It was supposed to take a few days, seeing as they were going to stop and spend the nights in a hotel. Nobody really liked driving at night and half the people in the car weren't allowed to drive because they didn't know how.

They had left at around eight o'clock in the morning and it was already almost lunch time. They weren't really planning on stopping to eat, just going through a drive through to have minimal stops. After a while they decided to actually go get lunch at some Jack in the Box they found in a small town.

Emma was still asleep on Neal and he was still awake. When they came into sight of the little restaurant, he woke Emma up, shaking her lightly. She sat up a little bit but he held her there, putting his hand on the back of her head so that it didn't hit the back of the seat while they made a sharp turn into the driveway of the restaurant.

She looked up at him, furrowing her eyebrows up and he looked over at her, holding her tighter as they made yet another sharp turn into the drive through. "We're gonna get lunch, I thought I should wake you up so you could eat. You want a grilled cheese?" he asked. She shakes her head, putting her head back down and burying her face in his chest.

He knew that if she wasn't going to get a grilled cheese, she had no intention of getting anything, though, and that wasn't gonna work. "Em, you gotta get something… you can even save it for later, but it'd suck if you're hungry in an hour and we're in the middle of nowhere," he said but she shook her head again, cuddling up with him and he sighs. Snow passes back a small strip of paper, seeing as they have seven people in their little Ford Explorer and she wasn't gonna be able to catch everybody's meal the right way if she didn't have it written down.

By the time it gets to them, Emma was already half asleep on him. He smiled, taking the hardback book from Henry and writing down both a cheeseburger for him and a grilled cheese for her, figuring that she'd be pissed if she woke up and realized exactly what was happening when she was half asleep on him.

So, they pass everything back and Neal gets a strip of paper from Snow, writing a little message on it before using a piece of tape to stick it to the little box the sandwich came in. _Here ya go. You were half asleep and I'm not sure you'll completely remember denying lunch but someone wrote something down on the thing for you. P.S there are curly fries in the container_ , he wrote, eating his lunch before leaning back against the thing a little bit better before falling asleep, holding onto her loosely enough for her to be able to let go if she wanted to.

Emma woke up, feeling Neal's soft breathing under her. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and getting a bit confused when she saw that everyone has some sort of food container next to them. Did they just forget to wake her up? She wasn't exactly sure what went on while she was asleep beside half the people in the car falling asleep, including her best friend beside her, and the other half of them were lost in some type of electronic.

She rubbed her eyes again, leaning over and finding a container in the little cup holder, seeing a note taped to it that was very clearly written in Neal's handwriting. She read over it, smiling at the sweetness of the goofy idiot beside her before taking the thing out of the container and eating her lunch.

She then leaned over back against Neal, which successfully woke him up, even though she just really wanted to cuddle up with him again. He smiled, pulling her into his arms and squeezing her tight, smiling at her sleepily. "Did you eat yet?" he asked and she smiled, nodding and looking up at him.

She wrapped her arms around him, sighing contentedly and relaxing against him. "You're sweet. Thank you," she whispered, burying her cheek against him. Her arms shook as she sighed, her eyes closing lightly. He nodded, stretching his neck up to kiss her head.

They sat up a little while later, messing around a little bit in the backseat, laughing a little bit while screwing around, fully distracting Snow in the front seat, who had to tell them multiple times to shut up and sit down all the way.

What pulled them out of their little fun haze wasn't Mary Margaret, though. It was a loud roar of thunder. The second Neal heard it, he tensed up, but it wasn't because he was scared of it. It was because the lovely girl sitting beside him was absolutely petrified. He reached over and pulled her back into his arms like before.

She laid with her head buried in his chest for a few minutes until the thunder started getting louder and louder and she began whimpering against him. He didn't know why she was so scared of storms and frankly, it wasn't important to him to know. All that mattered was that she _was_ and it was his job to protect him, even if it couldn't hurt her.

He took out his headphones from his little cup holder and his phone along with them, handing it to her and helping her put them in before she leaned back against him, closing her eyes tightly. He turned on her favorite song, letting her just listen to it while they waited for the storm to pass. It was funny because just a few minutes after they didn't need the phone anymore, it died.

The music stopped and Emma sat up, looking at it in confusion. Neal made a short face, taking the headphones away from her. She grabbed her backpack from behind her, grabbing out a portable battery and handing it to him, letting him plug his phone into it before she leaned back into his arms and sighed.

They didn't let go of each other for the whole rest of the three-hour drive to the hotel -except to get a drink because while Neal didn't want to let go of Emma, he knew that it was bad for her not to drink anything. When they got there, they were both sweating because of the excessive body heat from being cuddled up together for so long in the car.

They both got in the shower before they went and ate what David brought back from KFC before going to bed, cuddling up beside each other once again, ready for yet another day the next day like the previous one.


	36. They'd Given Up

**I'm home! I can write right now if anybody has any requests. Enjoy!**

They had both given up on love. Both of them had had too many losses, too many times when people left them or hurt them, telling them that they weren't good enough to be loved by anyone and they sure shouldn't love themselves either because they had a lot of work to do to make themselves to that point when they could be loved by someone.

Emma had been beaten and torn up by everyone she ever met or loved. Lily lied to her and got her caught and sent back into foster care, right back to be thrown into another terrible home that would land her in the hospital once again. Then, the second she gets a good home with people that wanted her, she came back and got her kicked out after stealing vacation money from the desk.

Ingrid had acted like she loved her, like she wanted to be her mother. She was normal at first, like any foster mother _should_ be and then she almost got her electrocuted before being almost hit by a car, both of them were her doing.

Then there were lists and lists of families that had thrown her out the second something came up, whether the mother was pregnant or Emma had gotten herself landed in the ER and they decided that the medical bills were too much when they could just throw her back into the system instead.

Then there were boyfriends'. They sucked. All of them. They treated her like garbage, some of them even calling her it. They would call her names and tell her what to do and push her around until she ran away from a good home to get away from them. They lied to her and they cheated on her and they did awful things to her and eventually, she just stopped trying to get them.

Neal had been broken and thrown around by anyone he's ever met or loved. They left him and abandoned him and reinforced the idea that he wasn't enough for them and that he never would be because there was no way that he could be popular enough or tough enough for anyone to notice him in a good way.

His mother left him with his father, knowing full well that the rotting old man could never take care of him on his own, especially with his leg hurting all the time. She abandoned him for the pirate and she never showed up again. She never even said goodbye to him, she just left him alone in the little hovel to wait for his father to get back.

His father traded power for him. Sure, he had sacrificed his good leg for him, but that was pretty much all. He used the Dark One magic to save him from the Ogre's War to be deemed a hero and then proceeded to murder and manipulate people until he no longer had any friends and everyone was afraid to even wave at him at the market. He then dropped him over a portal to land in some mysterious land all alone without a second thought.

Wendy had been one of the few friends he ever had and that was good for quite a while, but then she didn't believe him and ended up getting him sent away to go and spend years and years rotting away in Neverland.

Killian lied to him and then abandoned him. He acted like a father for a while until Neal found that stupid picture on his desk and he went crazy on him. He then told him that he didn't kill his mother and left him on Neverland all alone, without his father and without his mother, even without his sort-of stepfather.

There were only a few girlfriends' but he eventually realized that most of them thought they were entitled to everything and could push him around and tell him what to do because of chivalry and all that, and because they thought that for some reason it was wrong if he didn't comply with their every wish. He also thought that once he found the right girl, he would want to give her all the things that they wanted instead of wanting to just up and leave.

Then, there was the day when a girl broke into his car.

His life changed that day and he found himself with someone just like him. Someone who thought that all that love would do for them was break them. Someone who thought that they weren't good enough. Someone who thought they were worthless, maybe even more so than he thought he was.

Someone who would get up in the middle of the night and get out of the car to go and sit on the bench outside of it in the pouring rain because the car was so much better than they thought they deserved that it would overwhelm them to the point where they felt nauseous. Someone who would get out of bed on the nights that they were lucky enough to get a motel room and would take the extra comforter out of the cabinet and lay on the floor because of the same reason.

Someone that he felt the need to take care of, someone who was much more beautiful than they knew. Someone that he would wake up in the middle of the night and notice they were gone and for a minute, he would be terrified what happened to them and then be terrified about what he would do without them before he saw where they went. Someone that he would go out of the car to get and bring back into the warm before drying them off with the one towel they had in the backseat before letting them steal one of his shirts and throw on a pair of exercise short before cuddling up with them in the too small back seat of the car.

Someone that he loved and they didn't know why. Someone that loved him and he didn't know why. Someone that wanted him and he didn't know why. Someone that he wanted and they didn't know why. Someone that would never leave him. Someone that he would never leave.


	37. We'll Be There

**This is an old one that may or may not be completely finished (seriously, I'm not sure yet). Comment if you want another part to it! Enjoy!**

Neal glances over at Snow and David from the other side of the room, sighing and running his hands through his hair once again. "What's her temperature at now?" he asks, closing his eyes lightly and continuing to pace around the room.

David looks up at the monitor and then back at him for the fourth time in ten minutes and reports the temperature displayed on the monitor. "It's still 104.5, Neal. It's not gonna change within three minutes," he says, watching as Neal stops doing laps back and forth and sits down in the chair on the other side of the hospital bed.

David stands, looking down at his wife, who squeezes his hand lovingly before releasing it. He then glances back up at Neal, sliding out of the chair and going over to the other side of the bed. He places his hand on Neal's shoulder, looking down at Emma, who was still lying still in the hospital bed, and walks back over to Mary Margaret without a word being said.

Neal had gone over to Emma's house late that night. Henry had called him, clearly panicking, saying that he went into Emma's room to ask for help with a troubling algebra problem on his homework, but when he went in, she was asleep. He tried to wake her up, but she was dripping in sweat and as white as a sheet and her breathing was off and most importantly, she wasn't waking up.

In that instant, Neal knew something was very clearly wrong. He got into his car, still wearing his pajamas and sped like the devil to get to Emma's house. Henry was crying when he got there, this incident probably scaring him worse than anything he had experienced before. Neal had given Henry a short, comforting hug before rushing into Emma's room. The second he laid his eyes on her sleeping form, he found everything Henry had described on the phone to be an _understatement._

He sat beside her on the bed for a few minutes, trying many different methods in order to get her to wake up, even resorting to shaking her shoulders violently while calling out to her, but it didn't work. After he had tried everything he could think of, he called Henry into the room and handed the boy his cell phone, telling him to call Regina and his grandparents and let them know that he would be taking Emma to the emergency room.

The boy had looked up at Neal with such raw terror in his eyes, and stammered out a short, breathy response. "What if they don't answer?" Henry had asked, holding the phone in his hand, watching as his father began removing as much excess material from his mother's body as possible, starting with the blanket covering her body, and working his way down to the sweatshirt she always wore to bed.

Neal turned his head around to look at his son while he did so, seeing the tears beginning to form in the boy's eyes. "Then, keep calling." Normally, he would've taken a moment to comfort his son, to reassure him that everything would be okay, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had two reasons for that; one of them was because they didn't have time to stop for a heart to heart, and the other was that even _Neal_ wasn't completely sure that everything would be alright after this, and he didn't want to let his son down if it didn't turn out to be fine.

Henry nodded, even though his father had already turned his head back to face his mother, giving her his full attention. Henry found his other mother's contact in the phone, pressing the button and waiting for her to pick up. After a minute, there was a click, and Regina spoke. "Neal, why are you calling me at this hour? Is Henry alright?" she asked on the other end, her voice tired and raspy.

Henry assumed that the call had probably woken her up, so he just ignored the hoarseness of her voice. "Mom, it's me. I'm okay, but Emma's not. She's really sick. Dad told me to call you and tell you that he's gonna take her to the hospital," he explained, his voice breaking as he announced the true reason he was calling her so late.

On the other end, Regina sat up straighter in bed, now feeling much more awake than she had when she first heard the phone ringing. "Oh, Henry… Do you need anything? Do I need to come get you?" she asked, concerned for her little boy. She had never gotten the chance to see her mother sick as a child because she knew how to cure herself with magic, but she had seen her father fall ill, and it could be quite intense. She couldn't imagine what it would be like when you heard that someone you loved so much was so sick they needed to be taken to the hospital.

Henry watched as his father reached down to pick Emma up and start to take her to the car. Henry followed them as he talked to Regina. "Yeah, can you? It's scary here," he said, and Regina hummed a short response, already halfway down the stairs with her keys in hand. Henry then went to call David's cell phone.

David didn't answer. Henry normally would've laughed at that, but this was an emergency and it _really_ wasn't funny. He switched to the texting app, opening David's contact and typing something out. _Meet my Dad at the hospital, something's wrong with Mom- from Henry._ "Gramps didn't answer, I texted him," he said to Neal as they walked downstairs. His father just nodded, sighing as he reached the bottom step.

Henry reached out and opened the door, and they walked out into the cold Maine air. Henry opened the passenger side door for Neal to set Emma down in. Neal put her down, fastening her seatbelt and going around to his side.

They drove for a few minutes before Neal looked over and saw Emma starting to wake up a little bit. "Hey, Em, can you hear me?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road but glancing over at her every few seconds. "Hey, don't touch that," he whispered to her as she started pulling on her seatbelt. "It's okay, you're gonna be fine," he promised, taking her hand off of the seat belt and holding it.

She looked over at him, clearly disoriented, and frowned. Neal looked over at her, noticing this. He figured that she probably was starting to feel a headache or a stomach ache, or just something hurting. "We're almost there, just hold on, Em," he whispered, trying to keep her awake without Henry hearing. It was already too late, though. She was already falling fast asleep.

Neal mumbled a swear word, pulling into the hospital parking lot and parking the car as quickly as possible. Henry ran to Regina, who was standing outside and hugged her. "Thank you, Regina," he said, looking over at her as they followed Neal into the hospital. A nurse walked over, leading them into a room where Neal laid Emma down gently on a bed.

He then turned around to face Henry and Regina, who stood, watching them worriedly. She then did something that Neal never thought that he would see Regina do. She walked over to him, and pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Neal nodded, leaning away first and closing his eyes. Neal looked over at Henry, who just stood, looking as shocked as Neal was. "I should get Henry home and into bed then. Call me if you need me," she said. Neal nodded, watching as she grabbed Henry's hand and walked away.

David then came rushing into the room, wide-eyed and frazzled, Mary Margaret trailing behind him. "What happened?" he asked, rushing over to Emma's other side.

Neal shook his head. "I don't know, Henry texted me and said that she was sweating and pale and breathing funny and wouldn't wake up, so I brought her here," he explained, holding Emma's hand. Mary Margaret opened her mouth to ask another question, but Neal answered it before she could. "She woke up in the car, she was disoriented and tugging on her seatbelt, and then she started feeling something and looked so… _scared,"_ he whispered, rubbing his hand over his face.

David walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder, rubbing it in circles for a moment before going back to his wife. "She'll be fine, she's a strong girl," he reassured, and Neal nodded, even though he didn't really believe that she would be. You can only be so strong for so long, and she had been for her whole life.

Neal then got up, waiting for Doctor Whale to come and take her blood like the nurse said he would. "What's her temperature at?" he asked and David looked over at the monitor.

"104.5," he said, and Neal nodded, proceeding to ask again every five minutes for the next half-hour, waiting for it to finally change. It did at one point, rising up to 104.9, Neal panicked, calling in a nurse who had to assure him that everything was fine and took off one of her sheets. That made it fall back to 104.5.

And then there they were in the hospital, waiting for Whale to bring back the results of her blood test. "Neal, she's gonna be fine," Snow whispers, looking over at him and nodding. Neal nods, acting like he actually believes that she'll be absolutely fine, even though he really doesn't. He doesn't wanna scare her parents by freaking out any more than he already is.

There's a few more minutes of dead silence besides the heart monitor beeping before Whale walks into the room. "It looks like she just has a case of the flu. We'd like to keep her overnight just to monitor her. As long as she finishes the next bag of medicine before the morning, she can leave tomorrow," he says, passing Snow and David a sheet that they have to sign in order for them to be able to give her any more medicine.

Neal looks up at Whale, still holding Emma's hand with a death grip, but now his attention was towards the doctor. "So, she'll be okay?" he asks. Snow looks over at him and the hope in his eyes is just so sweet.

Whale nods, looking at Neal like he's crazy for ever thinking that she _wouldn't_ be okay. The doctor hangs up another bag of antibiotics and leaves the room. "See, she's gonna be fine," David tells him, watching as he grabs her hand and lets a few tears fall from his eyes.

A few minutes after that, a few more tears spilt later, Emma starts stirring around. Neal sits up, wiping the tears from his eyes and looking over at her. "Em?" he asks, but gets no reply other than some more stirring. For a moment he thinks that she's just moving around because the fever was making her so hot it's uncomfortable, but her eyes watering convinces him otherwise.

He squeezes her hand and she squeezes his back, his proof that she is actually waking up, even if it was just a little bit. "Open your eyes, sweetie," David tells her, putting his hand on her arm. She takes a minute, but her eyes do open.

There's confusion clouding them, showing that she's probably a little bit disoriented, but at least she was waking up. "N-" she winces as well as the rest of the people in the room. She had the flu, which couldn't mean that her throat felt good to begin with, but she had just tried to say something and that couldn't have felt good by any means.

Neal just keeps looking at her, squeezing her hand. "Yeah, it's me, Em. Don't try to talk, you have the flu, that's why it hurts. You probably picked up a little something from Regina after spending so much time around Henry this week," he says. Emma nods, knowing that she had, in fact, spent a lot of time going back and forth between the store and Regina's house to bring her medicine; she must've picked it up when Henry started staying the night with her.

Despite being told not to talk, she still had to say something. "At least she knows how to share," she rasps. Everyone lets out a short chuckle at her joke, knowing that she doesn't want them to be too worried if she's making jokes. "Am I gonna be okay?" she asks, her voice suddenly more serious and worried. Neal moves his chair closer to her head on the bed so that she'll be able to see him better.

He runs his fingers through her hair, moving it out of her face and looking at her. He nods, taking her hand back after having moved his for a moment. "You're gonna be fine, I promise," he tells her, leaning forwards, about to kiss her forehead, but she takes her hand out of his and pushes it against his chest.

He looks at her confusedly. It's a common thing for him to do, even though they aren't dating, it's just something that never really went away after he left. "I don't want you to get sick, too," she says as clearly as she can (which isn't very clearly). He nods and sits back down. His chances at getting sick are probably just as high because he's been sitting and holding her hand for hours, but he doesn't wanna upset her.

After a few minutes of them just sitting and talking, her parents and Neal are able to tell that just the ten minutes of her being awake is starting to take a toll on her as her eyes begin to close. "It's okay to rest, Em. Go back to sleep," he whispers, but she just shakes her head, gripping his hand in both of hers. He brushes the hair off of her forehead, looking her in the eye. "Why not?" he asks, noticing the tears beginning to form in her eyes as she begins to break down.

Emma looks up at him, shaking her head, but he continues to try to convince her to talk about it until she does. "I don't want you guys to go away," she whimpers, loosening her grip on his hand, as if she expected them all the stand up and walk out of the room.

They all look up each other, sharing the same look of concern, relief, and guilt. The look that let's them all know that they're all thinking the same thing; Emma Swan sounds scared. She sounds like a little girl again, too afraid to go to sleep, either because she's afraid that she already _is_ asleep and this is all a dream, or because she's terrified that she will wake up all alone in a hospital, having to find out from some nurse that she had never met, that her family was gone. That they didn't want her anymore, that they didn't _love_ her.

So, Snow takes one of Emma's hands off of Neal's and into her own, catching her attention. Neal squeezes her hand, making her look back over at him once again. "We're not going anywhere, Em. I promise," he whispers, leaning forwards and kissing her on the forehead, despite her earlier protest.

She looks up at him, then over to her parents. "You promise?" she whispers, again sounding like the little girl they never got to know.

Snow nods, looking at her, but her eyes are on her father. The only one in the room who has never fallen through a portal with/for her, the only one who hasn't said anything about staying so far tonight (or gestured so). She has the most doubt that she'll see her father when she wakes up than she does anyone else, but she doesn't know why.

She spends a moment just staring at him, but he doesn't seem to notice. Instead, his gaze is fixated on the blanket in a blank stare, as if he's staring, but he's not actually _looking._ "Daddy?" she whispers. His eyes shoot up to her questioningly, not exactly knowing or understanding what's going on.

Snow leans over and whispers something into his ear; something that Emma doesn't understand and doesn't have the energy to ask about. He walks around Snow so that he's closer to his daughter's head, leaning down once he gets there to kiss her on the cheek before putting his hand in the same place. "I'll be right here when you wake up. I love you, princess," he whispers, but instead of the smile that he's hoping to get, Emma's eyes start welling up quickly with tears and he instantly is filled with regret.

He shouldn't have said that to her, not right now. He didn't mean to upset her, he was just trying to make sure she knew, but that obviously wasn't working too well for him. He stands back up, his back straight and tall, before he begins to walk away. "No, wait. Daddy," she says, calling after him, but he doesn't know what to do.

He doesn't know if it'll upset her more if he turns around or not, so he just walks away, going across the room to the couches. "Daddy?" she calls tearfully, watching as he continues to walk away as if she's not even there. Snow turns around and looks at him, who's facing the wall, before turning back to Emma and gesturing to give her a minute.

Snow lets go of Emma's hand, walking over to David and standing in front of him. They go back and forth for a few minutes, until Snow can get David to walk back over to them. He looks back at Emma, but doesn't say anything. "I was gonna say it back," she mumbles, tears falling down her face, but not enough to affect her speech any more than it already is.

David looks up at her, his arms crossed over his chest in a protective stance as he stands beside his wife. "What?" he asks. Emma looks up at him, looking away from the table she was staring at. Neal looks at her and back up at him, not knowing what Emma was saying either.

She takes a deep breath, looking into her father's eyes that look incredibly saddened, yet not showing that. "I love you, too, Daddy," she whispers, looking up at him with tears in her eyes, just the same as before. Her eyes widen in complete terror as he drops his arms down to his sides and begins walking, completely and utterly horrified that he's gonna leave the room, but instead, he comes back over to her side, taking her hand and holding it there until she falls asleep with her family surrounding her.


	38. It Doesn't Matter

**This one's short, sorry. I based it off of a one-shot I read by zinger17 on Archiveofourown. I'm not going to update this until the next time someone leaves a review because if nobody's liking it, I'm not updating it.**

Emma sees Neal stand, disappearing behind the foliage and into the jungle. She goes over to her dad and takes her pack before beginning to follow him through the trees, being sure to remain quiet as she passes by little things that might just make her scream. She eventually catches up to him.

She goes to sit beside him, successfully scaring the crap out of him before she says anything, and when she does, it's many minutes later and after watching him rip apart twenty different leaves and throw the pieces into the fire that he had made quickly to keep them warm.

"I'm sorry. About Tamara," she says and he looks up at her, surprised before he looks back down at his hands, not knowing what to say. "I might not have liked her very much but it's clear that you loved her. I'm sorry it turned out the way it did," she says, suddenly unsure whether or not she's talking about them or him and Tamara.

He just nods, continuing to rip up a leaf and throw it into the fire. He looks at the fire once the last of it's gone before he looks back up at her, finding her staring at the fire, as well. "I loved her. Maybe not as much as I should've but I thought she loved me, that I would be enough for her and that was fine for me," he says and she nods, looking at the fire so that he won't be able to see the tears in her eyes.

The tears forming in her eyes because she loves him, because she _always_ loved him, because he doesn't love her, because he loved that other girl more, because she would never be enough for him no matter how hard she tried, because she didn't matter to him or anyone else and she never would. Because she ended up in the right place. _Neverland; the island of the lost._

And, boy, was she lost.

She didn't have a home with her parents, not really, especially when her mother had just admitted that she didn't want her. She didn't have a home with any of the few friends that she had. She didn't have a home with Neal, who she loved so dearly and who didn't love her back even a little bit. Sure, he might've said it, but he didn't mean it.

He looks over at her, still unable to see the tears in her eyes as he begins to speak about their past. "Em, I-I gotta say something. When I had to leave you- when I _chose_ to leave you… I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you. I was just thinking about how it would get you to your real home, which sure couldn't have been with me. I-I know it doesn't matter _what_ it was that I was trying to do because it still hurt you and I can't take that back. The point is, you thought I had never loved you and I am so, so sorry for that, Emma," he tells her and by the end, she's in tears.

She looks up at him, tears falling from her cheeks at a rapid pace and he looks guilty. So, so guilty that it might make her heartbreak all over again. "It matters," she whispers, barely loud enough for him to hear but he does and he begins crying silently as well. She moves closer to him, wrapping her arms around him from the side and crying into his shoulder, both of them clinging to each other like saran-wrap.

After a few minutes- maybe hours, they can't tell, they both pull away from each other, both of them have needed that desperately for so long. "I love you," she hears softly in her ear and she smiles, moving over and resting her head on his shoulder.

She knows that he's not expecting a response and she knows that she doesn't need to give one. He already knows by her actions through the past few minutes that she loves him just as much as he loves her and she intends to prove it without saying a single word about it… even while they find their son.


	39. Grieving

**So, uh… I cried writing this. Like hard. At midnight. I don't normally cry while writing so this had to have been very sad in my head, if not on paper.**

 **This was requested by guest (swanbeliever) as one where Emma and Henry have a heart-to-heart after Neal dies. It didn't come out the way I was expecting, but I guess it** _ **kinda**_ **shows them grieving in their own ways, I guess… Anyway, to the guest that requested this, if you want me to do it again, I will. I can't DM you to ask so you have to say exactly what you want in the request.**

 **I hope you enjoy (and maybe cry).**

Henry creeps over to Emma in their room, sitting down on the bed beside where she's asleep, fighting invisible monsters in her dreams and flinching around. He doesn't wake her up, he waits for her to do it on her own, just like he did before he got his memories back.

It was harder for him now since earlier in the day when his mom told him that his father died. He loved his dad, he still does, and he doesn't feel safe without knowing that he's there to protect him and his mother. It feels like there's something missing, even though it's just been a few hours since it happened.

He waits for Emma to wake up and she gasps when she does, sitting up straight in bed and looking over to Henry, panting and her heart racing as she looks over at the boy, who seems to have just woken up from a nightmare of his own. "Hey, kid, you okay?" she asks and he looks over at her, a silent look in his eyes showing that he's obviously not.

She crawls over to him on the side of the bed and wraps her arms around him, much like she used to with his father when he woke up with dreams about his Papa. After a few seconds of her holding onto him without a response, she feels him tense up and he says something. "I miss him," he says and Emma's heart breaks.

It wasn't as if she hadn't known that the nightmares were caused by the events of earlier in the day, but hearing him confirm it made it ten times harder to bear. "I know, I do, too," she whispers, her head going to rest on top of his as he turns and wraps his arms around her, beginning to cry.

To cry for the loss of his father. The one that he had hardly gotten to know well enough before he left, just like he promised not to. "He loved you, you know. Your dad- he wanted a family. He always talked about getting a house somewhere warm- where there was a lot of sun. He was absolutely pissed whenever I mentioned getting a house where we were in Portland," she says and Henry just continues crying, tears pouring out of his eyes.

Emma looks over at the picture on the desk, one that she doesn't remember drawing. One that her son drew. She leans back, looking down at him. "Can I see your picture?" she asks, tearfully, tears streaming down her face, ones that she doesn't even bother to wipe away. He nods, still crying.

He stands up and walks over to the desk, grabbing the photo off of it and bringing it over to Emma and handing it to her. A drawing with some colored pencils, the three of them, standing in front of a castle on the beach, all of them holding hands with big smiles across their faces. It might be just a drawing- a fantasy- but it's enough to do her in.

She puts the picture down beside her on the bed and draws her knees up to her chest and rests her elbows on them, covering her face up with her hands and finally, after a whole day of spilling maybe one or two tears every once in a while, breaks down sobbing. She wishes this was like Neverland, when she thought she wished he was dead. She wishes this didn't bother her so much, but it does.

She finds herself clutching the pendant hanging from her neck, holding onto it so tightly that it's leaving marks in the palm of her hand but she doesn't care. This is a moment when she begins reminiscing, something she hasn't done nearly enough today.

She goes through many memories in her head, not caring whether or not they were sad or happy, but she realizes as she does so that she begins to calm down, the action distracting her from the fact that the person she was thinking about wasn't there anymore.

All of these memories seem to be just therapeutic for her until she gets to one. A single memory that she's gone through a million times in her head before today, but now it means more. Now it means that he broke his promise to stay more than once. Three times, actually.

The first time they said I love you to each other. It was a cold, rainy day and they hadn't been able to get to a store because everything was flooding on lower ground, so they were hungry. They had run out of food the day before, which was when the storm started, so they hadn't eaten anything and Emma was feeling so sick that Neal was beginning to contemplate taking her to the hospital.

She kept refusing, but he kept bringing it up. She told him over and over again that she would be fine once they got some food in her, but he kept on reminding her that they didn't know when it would be safe to go back down the hill to the little valley town. It was every time he mentioned that that she had to remind him that they would get caught when they asked for her I.D at the hospital.

He knew he couldn't do that to her, land her in jail or worse; the foster system. So, he kept putting it off, but every once in awhile, she would shiver and he knew that they didn't have long until she passed out and he would need to take her or she would die in that car. He had given her his jacket, making her take off all of her wet clothes before giving her one of his shirts and taking out one of her pairs of exercise shorts from her back before wrapping her up so that she wouldn't be as cold and wet anymore.

Hours and hours went by and she had fallen asleep in the car, giving him the perfect chance to run her down to the clinic. She had woken up in a hospital bed, a mask on her face and tubes in her arms, and the most frightening part was that Neal hadn't been there. She got scared and had sat up, taking the mask off before ripping the IV's out of her arms so she could go find out what happened to him.

Nurses came rushing into the room and behind them was Neal, who rushed to her side but the nurses pushed him away. She wouldn't calm down because she was still incredibly delirious and frightened so she kept pushing them and fighting them until they called Neal over in hopes that he would be able to calm her down.

He had sped over to her side from outside the room and stood by her. They didn't say no to anything, so he pulled her close to his chest and stroked her hair until she was convinced that everything was okay. The nurses put the IV's back in her arms one at a time before reaching up and trying to put her mask back over her mouth and she fights them until they take out a sedative.

Neal reached over and stopped them, asking them to give him just a second and he'd be able to get her to calm down. They all backed up and he pulled her to him once again, holding her tight against his chest. "I need you to put the mask back on because it's helping you breathe because you're not doing so good on your own. I love you and I need you to keep breathing for me," he said and she relaxed, slowly releasing herself from him. She first unwrapped her arms from around his neck and then put her hands on her shoulders, slowly letting him go.

The nurse put the mask back on her before she realized what Neal had said to her a minute before. He loved her. He said that he loved her. She wanted to get up and do a happy dance but was unable to because of the machines. She instead reached up and lowered the mask, the nurse fighting her for a moment before realizing that she wanted to say something.

She grabbed at Neal's hand, making him look away from the heart monitor and back at her, squeezing her hand. "I love you, too," she rasped and he smiled, leaning down and giving her a short, quick kiss on the lips before gently reaching up and putting the mask back on her.

Then, she's back in the real world, when Neal Cassidy is dead, he no longer loves her, and she was sitting sobbing on the bed next to her son who was in tears as well. "I love you, Mom," Henry whispers and pulls her to him as best he can, seeing as he's still a lot smaller than she is. She wraps her arms around him and smiles, softly and tearfully. She ruffles his hair up, much like she used to do to Neal (even though he hated it).

She pulls him to her and he rests his head on her stomach, laying the wrong way on the bed to keep it there. She smiles, taking his hand in hers before he falls asleep, not wanting to wake him up later on to do so. He squeezes her hand much like Neal had before and she then remembers that she did the same exact thing as back then. "I love you, too," she whispers, her voice hoarse from crying so much.

He falls asleep like that. She reaches up and turns off the light, beginning to move the old picture to the nightstand. Henry then wakes up, shaking his head once. He goes to the desk, grabbing an empty frame off of it and putting the picture into it. Emma smiles as he walks back to bed, his hair messy already. He lays down the same way as before, his head on her stomach and his hand in hers.

The only difference is now he holds the frame under one arm, holding it close to his chest so that nobody can take it away from him. Nobody can take the last thing Henry has of his father's away from him.

After about a half hour of Henry being completely knocked out against her, she reaches down and picks up the frame, looking over it. She takes the photo out of it, inspecting the front before moving to the back of it and finding a note. _I love you, Dad. Thank you for being here for me now. Love, Henry._ So, it was _for_ Neal, not something Henry drew recently. She can tell when it was drawn because of the date on the back.

She smiles softly, reaching down and picking up the frame, placing the photo back into it carefully and putting it back under Henry's arm. She then reaches to the nightstand and picks up her phone. She goes to Neal's contact and clicking the message button. _Goodnight, baby. I miss you_. She teared up once again before sending it and laying back down against the pillows, hoping that Neal was right earlier, and that he _was_ watching over them from somewhere.


	40. He Does For You

**This was requested by oncer4life11. Enjoy!**

Henry goes running down the hallway, his feet making little pattering noises as he throws open the door to his mother's bedroom. He walks in and finds his mother there on the bed thrashing around. The sounds of her cries had woken the young boy up from his sleep and he had automatically recognized the sound, seeing as it had happened many times before.

Ever since little Henry could remember, he had seen his mother being plagued by nightmares. When he was little, she had tried to explain to him that she was seeing big monsters in her dreams and that when she was moving around in her sleep, she was trying to fight them and defeat them like the characters in his games, but now he knows that that's not the full reason why she gets woken up so late at night.

He doesn't know exactly what is, but he knows that monsters aren't real, like she always tells him when he asks if she can leave all the lights on. Even though he knows that something about what she tells him isn't true, he still runs up to his mother's bed, climbing up onto it beside her and shaking her. "Mommy! Mommy, wake up!" he yells at her, shaking her on the side until she wakes up, a sob catching in her throat as she sees her son above her.

His eyes are filled with concern, much like his father's once had. She reaches up and pulls Henry down to her, just like she always does. She sits up, his arms going around her neck so that he's as close to her as he can be. He holds onto her as tight as he can, his eyes closing so hard to the point where they crinkle up.

She rocks him back and forth, to calm the both of them down. After a few minutes of silence, when Henry thinks that she's all better, he leans back and puts his hands on her shoulders. He gives her a kiss on the cheek, a sloppy and wet one at that, and she smiles, giving him a kiss as well. "I did good, like Daddy? Mommy's all better?" he asks and she smiles, watching him as he tilts his head to the side in question and his eyes go down to her shirt. He smiles, picking at the fraying fabric

Emma nods, looking over at Henry and smiling. She puts her hand on the back of his head and he looks up at her, his attention going back to her instead of the shirt. "Yes, you did good, like daddy. Mommy's all better. Do you want to stay with me tonight?" she asks and he nods, getting very excited. She smiles, reaching over and turning off the lamp that she had forgotten earlier.

Henry moves over to Emma, resting his head on her stomach. She plays with his hair, running her hands through it and smoothing it back off of his forehead. They lay like this for a little bit, just enjoying each other's company, Henry playing with the thin sweatshirt that was supposed to be his father's; the father he's never met. "Mommy?" he asks sweetly, looking up at her from the sweater.

She looks down at him, smiling and just resting her hand softly on his head instead of playing with his hair so that he knows that she's listening. "Can I meet Daddy soon?" he asks innocently. It wasn't like he didn't know anything about his father; he had actually heard many stories and even talked to him once or twice on the phone, but he wasn't able to go and see him.

Emma looks at him sadly, and despite the sympathy she has for the child, she still shakes her head. "You know that, Henry. Daddy comes home soon, you'll see him then. And I know you know why you can't see daddy, I told you. He's in the bad place because he did something bad, but he loves you so much and he thinks about you every day," she says.

She reaches onto the nightstand and takes off one of the old polaroid photos of Neal alone, one that she had insisted on taking back when they first got it, seeing as he took what felt like hundreds of her and she didn't have even one of him alone. She hands it to Henry. While it was technically Emma's picture because she took it, they called it 'Henry's picture' because they didn't have one for him and Emma had one other one for just her.

He looks at it, smiling and touching Neal's cheek in the picture. Emma sighs, forcing herself not to let her eyes tear up, no matter how badly she felt the need to cry. "Mommy?" Henry asks, looking up at her, still holding the picture. She looks down at him, waiting for his question to be asked. "Does Daddy think about you every day, too?" he asks. Emma doesn't think that she's ever had a harder question to answer from her little boy.

She looks down at him and shakes her head, reaching down and kissing his head. "I don't know, baby," she whispers and Henry looks down at the edge of the bed, closing his eyes and beginning to look very guilty. Emma combs her hands through his hair and he sighs softly. "I hope not. He should spend his time thinking about how awesome you are, not me," she says, smiling.

Henry shakes his head, sitting up and crawling over to Emma. He puts his hands on her face and brings her head forwards to kiss her forehead. "That was for Daddy. I bet he'd want you to have it," he says and she smiles, beginning to tear up. Henry moves back to the same way he was laying down before. They both fall asleep with something of Neal's in their arms. Emma with his son, and Henry with his picture.

Skip forwards a few months. Emma and Henry sit in the bug parked around the corner from Arizona State Prison as they wait for Neal to come and meet them. Henry was practically bouncing up and down in the backseat, and Emma would love to be able to say that she wasn't but she'd be lying.

They had the radio on and Henry was belting out the lyrics to one of the songs on the radio with his mouth full with an almost completely eaten M&M cookie. Emma looked out the front window as she sees someone turning the corner and she squeals, telling Henry to unbuckle his seatbelt. She goes around and helps him out of the car, making sure he doesn't fall as he gets out and walks with him around to where Neal is.

She throws her arms around his neck, having only seen him once or twice in the six years that he's been in prison. Both of the visits were before she had Henry and they were both very early on. Both of them had agreed that it wouldn't be safe for him in the prison and neither wanted their little boy to get hurt by saying the wrong thing or touching something that he shouldn't.

Both Emma and Neal hold onto each other for a few minutes, Neal's barely able to contain his tears and Emma actually isn't. When she let's go after a minute, Neal's eyes land on Henry and he starts crying, too. The first time your eyes land on your little boy in person is a big moment. Sure, Neal had seen pictures of him that Emma sent, but that wasn't the same.

Henry went running towards Neal. Despite not knowing him, he had heard so many stories of this man that his mother calls his 'daddy,' and for some reason, he had always anticipated the day that he would be able to meet him. Neal reached down and picked Henry up, holding onto him as tight as he could without hurting the boy.

Henry leans back, the experience apparently having been too much for the little boy, seeing as he's crying. He puts his hand on Neal's cheek just like he's always done with the picture. With a quiet cry, he looks Neal in the eye and can't bring himself to smile quite yet. Though this has been something he's awaited since he was able to understand that it would happen, he still has one more thing to say; one more question. "Daddy?" he asks, just like he does with Emma every time he has a question.

Neal's heart swells as he hears his son call him that for the first time and he looks him in the eye to let him know that he's listening to what he has to say. "You're coming home, right?" he asks and Neal's eyes fill up with tears once again.

He nods, taking one of Henry's hands and holding onto it, still being mindful of the fact that the boy is smaller than he is and if he holds him too hard it'll hurt. "Yeah, Henry. I'm coming home," he whispers, holding the boy tightly. He kisses the back of his head and goes to help Henry into the car before joining Emma in the front seat.

On the drive back, Neal learns many new things about his family that he didn't know before. He knew the basic things; their birthdays, where they lived, what the front of their house looked like, but he hadn't known so many details that he wouldn't have thought would matter before the day that he actually met his son.

Emma looks back into the mirror as the two adults speak to see Henry, coloring away in his Color Wonder book. "-and you take really good care of mommy just like daddy, right baby?" she asks Henry and his attention changes from the colors to Emma within a moment.

Henry smiles and looks up at Emma. He drops his pen (thank god it has invisible ink) and looks at Emma back through the mirror. "Yeah, Mommy!" he exclaims and Neal smiles, reaching over and picking up Emma's hand and kissing it. She blushes, reaching across the car next time they stop and giving him a kiss on the cheek. They continue a short game of this before Henry decides that it's too gross and reaches up and puts his hand in between Neal's hand and Emma's forehead.

And that night, when Henry hears not one of his parent's crying out in their sleep in the hotel room on the way home, he gets out of his bed and runs over to theirs, climbing between them and waking them both up at the same time and they all take care of each other, finally.

 **-So, number one, school started today for me, so if I don't get back to you on reviews or on PM's, it's probably because my phone is off and I can't see it. I'll answer everything when I get home (some days might be later than others.)**

 **-Two, please remember that I will ALWAYS take your requests unless I find them rude, offensive, or inappropriate. And I do like requests, I think they're more fun to write than things that I come up with and I love getting other people's point of view's on things.**

 **-I really, really, really, love getting reviews, too. It lets me know that people are enjoying things that I'm writing.**

 **-I hope you have an awesome day!**


	41. At Home, At Last

**Firstly, I decided to put this at the top because you're more likely to read it and that's what I need you to do. With the beginning of school, I haven't been able to write much. I actually don't think I've updated or finished anything since it did. So, I'm thinking about maybe either putting these chapters on hold or ENDING THE BOOK where it is. Comment your opinions, please! Even just one person may be able to change my mind!**

 **Second, to the guests requesting a bunch of sequels. I will try to get to them as soon as I can kind of imagine it, and then I'll get it written and posted! (You also might want to remind me every once in awhile because I** _ **will**_ **forget. Homework fries the brain, people.) Enjoy!**

Normally, the hands shaking thing isn't a problem. It's caused by anxiety, she knows that she's taking medicine for it. Heck, _everybody_ knows that. It's nothing new. But, the problem is that she has an idea. She wants to get another tattoo.

But she can't draw it. She knows exactly what she wants and she can't _draw_ it because her hands shake too much. Dear god, if she ever hated anything as much as she hated that, it would be a record. She gets the actual picture in her head at one o'clock in the morning.

Emma stands up from the bed and practically trips over her shoes as she runs over to her desk and picks up the pen. One line. That's all it takes for her to start swearing violently and throwing pens at the wall. It's lovely, truly lovely.

She sighs and sits with her head in her hands before she gets an idea. She picks up her phone off the charger and runs downstairs, throwing her coat on and running across the street to Granny's. One o'clock in the morning and Emma's knock on someone's door.

It's not like that's new, especially because it's Neal Cassidy's door. She hears a response from the other side of the door and a thump. The door opens and she looks up to see Neal standing there, his hair messy while he wears sweatpants, his hand on the door handle. "Hey," he says, letting out a half yawn.

She smiles fondly and tilts her head to the side, waiting for him to wake up a tiny bit before starting to explain why she's at his hotel room after midnight. "I have a favor to ask," she says and he nods, stepping aside to welcome her in. He takes her jacket after she walks in. He hangs it up on the coat rack.

She thanks him and they walk over to the couch. She sits on it and he goes to the armchair around the corner from it. Emma turns to him, not waiting for him to ask why she was there. "I want to get another tattoo. I can't draw it," she says, making a face and holding up her hand. His eyes widen and he nods, disappearing into the other room and returning with a paper and pencil.

He puts them on the couch before moving the coffee table closer to the couch and sitting down on it. "So, like a mountain line," she says and he nods, drawing out a short horizon and then looking up at her, wondering if she wanted anything else. "That goes into one of the heart monitor measurement lines," he does it and she smiles, shaking her head as he draws a heart instead of the heart line.

He looks up at her worriedly and then back down at the paper to see if he messed up the picture but sees no mistakes. "I meant, like, one of the heart monitor lines…like in a hospital," she says and he makes a face before erasing it and redrawing what she wants. She nods and smiles and he looks up at her, concerned and kind of guilty.

He looks down at it again, looking over at it and sighing. He rubs his hand over his face, looking at it once again. "Do you want me to redraw it with a pen or something? Like, it's gonna be permanently drawn onto you, I want it to be what you want it to, not just because you don't wanna hurt my feelings," she says and she shakes her head, reaching over and taking his hand, smiling brightly.

"It's great, it's- it's perfect. I love it," she says and he nods, closing his eyes and sighing putting his hand over them. She chuckles and moves over to him, wrapping her arms around him on the side. Part of her thinks he might be embarrassed, maybe also flattered, but she knows for a fact that he feels guilty, almost anxious. "I _promise,"_ she says, persistently, like a child would almost, leaning back and looking at him.

He nods, looking over at the wall and shaking his head. "Okay. Fine," he says and she chuckles, leaning away from him and back over to the arm of the couch. She knows a little bit about what he's been talking about in his sessions with Archie because she's doing the same thing in her's.

So, she waits for him, just like she's supposed to, so that he'll learn to deal with it instead of worrying about it obsessively. "It would make me feel better about it to redo it neater so that it doesn't come out all sketchy when they copy it," he sighs.

She nods, picking up the paper and looking at the first drawing. "Okay," she says simply, passing the paper back to him so that he can do it again to make sure that it's nice and neat; however, in the middle of it, she gets another idea and jumps a little bit as she kind of envisions it.

Neal looks at her like she's absolutely lost her mind and she looks to him, smiling brightly as she realizes that her new idea would be even better. "Actually… can you do another one of them?" she asks and his eyes light up. He nods vigorously, excited for the chance to draw something different. "Instead of the heartbeat, can you do one that says 'home' on it? Because my parents came from the mountains in the Enchanted Forest and you and your Dad came from other ones and it just makes _sense,_ okay? Stop looking at me like that and do it," she laughs, smacking his arm as he looks up at her like she's crazy.

He draws the new one with a big smile the whole time and she watches, completely in awe over the absolutely insanely adorable human being in front of her. "Is this one okay?" he asks and she nods, smiling really big the whole time. He smiles as he cleans it up a little bit and she smiles the entire time, watching him do so.

She reaches over once he's done and throws her arms around him. He chuckles, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you," he hears her whisper in his ear and nods, laughing shortly. He turns his head and kisses her cheek, smiling softly. She buries her face in his neck and he runs his hands through her hair.

Twenty minutes later, they're passed out on the couch, Emma laying on Neal's chest and Neal holding her as tightly as he possibly can, not ever wanting to let go because tonight, he finally has her back with him.


	42. A Talk, Unwanted

**Okay… so, I'm gonna start a thing for these because I think it'll be interesting to see how long it is before I get tired of it. I'm gonna put a thing at the end of the story, if it's too annoying I'll move it to the comments. But it'll be like an inventory of what put the story together. Like the song I listened to on repeat while writing it (I do that XD), the prompt, whether or not it was a request, all that.**

 **This was requested by Phoebes (guest)**

Emma sits down beside Neal on the log, the same one that they had been sitting on when he told her that he loved her. They weren't able to find the place where Pan was keeping Henry yet, but Regina was trying to figure it out with Killian and they needed Neal's help with the island then.

So, she went to find him. She sits down beside him on the log and puts her hand on his arm. "We need help with the map. Do you want to come or do you need a minute?" she asks and he nods, putting his head in his hands and sighing. "It's not your fault. You didn't know that Pan would move his camp again," she whispers, moving over to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

He shakes his head, closing his eyes and looking over at the fire that had been put out just a while before. "It's not that. It's that thing…. The one that we weren't gonna talk about," he says and she sighs and looks up at him, tilting her head to the side after sitting up. "I know. I know! I just- I need to," he says and she nods, backing away so she can look at him and take his hands, knowing that it'll be hard to have this conversation together.

He waits for her to say something and she waits for him to, also. After a minute she realizes that she should say something first and does, looking over at him. Her heart breaks but she doesn't know what else to say or to ask. "Why did you leave me?" she asks, tears beginning to form in her eyes and her hands beginning to shake along with the rest of her body.

He closes his eyes and turns to look at the trees across the little clearing from them. "Because I had to. All you wanted was to find your family. That was all. When August told me you would, he didn't say that it would take ten years for you to do it. I thought that it would've been sooner, like as soon as I left it would all start. I didn't know that it would take you a decade to find them," he says and she shakes her head, looking down at the leaves on the ground.

He continues to look out at the clearing, knowing that their son might be somewhere on the other side of it. "He told you to leave, he didn't tell you to call the cops on me," she says and Neal turns to look at her, his eyes wide. She doesn't see it though, she just keeps looking at the wet leaves on the ground.

He reaches over and takes her hand, staring at her and trying to get her to look at him and stop crying. He didn't mean to start any of this. This was an accident. "I didn't call the cops on you. Did they say it was called in?" he asks and she nods, looking down at the ground and beginning to sob, not understanding exactly what's happening.

He gets off of the log, kneeling in the dirt and pulling her into his arms, holding her close to him and just rocking back and forth. All this time, all these years, she thought that he had called it in, that he had betrayed her even more than he really did. That he had been the one to _send_ her to prison. "I didn't call it in. August left because he had to make a call, I didn't know that he was calling it in. The second I heard the cars I knew, but I didn't know that they were there because of me," he whispers, leaning back and looking at her.

She begins hyperventilating, tears falling down her face. He takes her hands in his, squeezing them gently before getting up and sitting beside her, rubbing her back slowly in circles. "I would've never left you. I just thought you'd want your family. And I knew that it would either be too hard to ask and have you say no or to go back and have it too hard to leave," he says and she nods, closing her eyes tightly, trying to focus on actually breathing instead of listening because she doesn't understand all of this.

She's happy. This whole time she had thought that he hadn't loved her, that he had turned her in so that he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore or something along those lines, but he hadn't. He didn't even know that August called the cops on her and she was thrilled about that. That meant that he would've stopped him. "I just wanted you to find your parents," he says, wrapping an arm around her and turning his head so that his face was buried in her neck.

She nods once she calms down and smiles, chuckling a bit and wiping the tears from her cheeks before turning to him and hugging him tightly. "You better know how much I love you," she whispers in his ear and he smiles, nodding and squeezing her hard, rubbing her back.

"I love you, too, Em," he says, kissing her on the cheek once again.

 **So, here's the inventory thing from the top of the chapter.**

 **Song: (It was a really sad song and I don't want to make people sad so no thank you. DM me if you want it.)**

 **Prompt: T'was a request in the comments of It Doesn't Matter.**


	43. Car Crashes

**Welp, this was a good writing and updating weekend, but sadly school starts again tomorrow and I might not get much done this week. So, please go follow my instagram and I'll post on there whether or not there is something to be updated on here. It's . .ending. Thank you! Hope you enjoy this!**

Emma's always caught in the wrong moment. When the Blue Fairy almost died, she wasn't even supposed to be outside. She was supposed to be at Granny's with Neal and laughing and having a good time. He didn't know that, though.

Now, there was this. Why didn't the hospital call her? She should be under his emergency contact list, given that they have a child together. Why was _Gold_ on the list? That was another important question. Why? That seemed to be the question. Why was he even on the road at 4 o'clock in the morning?

The only thing that she even really knows is that four in the morning in the middle of winter in Maine is not the time to go and see the man you love in the hospital after he goes off roading. Even the image in her head was horrifying; his red pickup against a tree.

Why hadn't he been watching the road? He was the one who told _her_ about keeping her eyes on the road. He didn't seem to be one that couldn't take his own advice. She wishes that he had, though. She is _not_ in the right mind frame to be meeting him at 4 a.m in the ER.

This isn't the ideal way to be spending her night. She doesn't really mind meeting him, especially if he's _hurt,_ but she wishes that he wasn't. She wishes she was still asleep. That would've been ideal.

So, the second she had gotten the phone call from Belle and was hearing that he was hurt, she had jumped out of bed and thrown some clothes on. She grabbed her keys and ran out of the apartment like it was burning.

She drives as fast as her little car allows, which is only a few miles over the speed limit. She wants to get there as fast as she can, so she doesn't think about speeding. Her dad's the sheriff, he won't arrest her. Especially because he's home sleeping.

She jumps out of her car as soon as it's parked and runs inside, straight to the front desk. "Neal Cassidy," she says, barely stopping to hear what room he's in. The nurse hands her a paper that says 'Room 8' on it and she snatches it up, running to it as fast as she can.

When she gets there, it's obvious that they're all shocked that she actually bothered to show up after the phone call because they stop talking immediately. Her eyes go to Gold and Belle before they land on Neal.

He's sitting up in a hospital bed, a sling on his arm and a few cuts across his face but that's all. There's no other major injuries besides his broken arm. She doesn't say anything, just stands in the doorway until someone says something. "Hey, uh… what're you doing here?" he asks. She doesn't say anything then, either.

She just walks over to his bed and wraps her arms around him as gently as she can, not wanting to hurt his arm and any other injuries that she can't see. Then, she starts crying. Tears run down her face and all she can think about is how much she hates love and how it drives her to do such stupid things. "Oh, okay, um… I'm not dead?" he says, not knowing what else to say to comfort her because she's not sad, she's mad that he got himself in this mess.

She leans back, trying to contain herself as best she can, but she end up collapsing back against his chest. Gold and Belle then silently get up and leave, giving the two some time alone together. He holds onto her tightly as she just cries and cries, attempting to soothe her by rocking side to side. "I thought you were dead," she whispers and he shakes his head, rubbing her back.

After a few seconds he adjusts his arm around her, pulling her closer than he could before in the messy position. "I wasn't dead," he whispers, holding onto her as tight as he can with just one arm. It's not ideal and he would much rather be able to do so with both, but he knows that he can't take his arm out of the sling or it'll hurt as bad as it did going in.

He reaches over and kisses her head. She leans back a bit and tries to reposition herself so that his arms are over hers but he can't move his arm that way and ends up leaning back, hesitating a bit before sighing. "Sorry," he whispers and she shakes her head, beginning to calm down a bit and wiping the tears away from her eyes. She chuckles a bit and he does, too, both of them knowing that if he's apologizing once again for something stupid, he must be okay (unless, of course, that is his constant state of being.)

They sit in silence for a minute before Neal speaks up and asks a question that's been on his mind. "Why'd you come?" he asks quietly, playing with the heart monitor on his finger. "I thought I told you I'd back off," he whispers. Emma looks over at him and her heart breaks at how sad he is. Though, she's been asking questions of her own, he has his, too. Why is she doing this to him? Why did she come if she doesn't want him anymore?

She nods once, looking back at him and taking his hand, making him unable to play with the clip on his finger anymore. "I know you did. That was an accident, not showing up. Not a mistake, but an accident. I was going to see you and then Blue died," she tells him in a cautious tone, not wanting to hurt him or confuse him, especially right now.

"Wha- Emma," he stammers, a sad tone to his voice. He sees the look in her eyes, a look that says that she didn't think he cared about that. That he didn't care about her. "I thought th- why didn't you tell me?" he asks, not wanting to upset her by saying what he had thought earlier.

She looks at the wall, still holding his hand, but finding herself unable to look him in the eye- she's too embarrassed. "I didn't know if you wanted to know. I thought you might not've wanted me to tell you and after what you said about it earlier… I just thought that you wouldn't want to see me," she says, looking up at the heart monitor as his heart rate rises and the beeps speed up.

He takes his hand out of her's and reaches up, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "I did, though, Em… You could've told me, we could've been working on this whole, you know…" he says, gesturing between the two of them. "Thing," he says looking her in the eye and sighing

She looks over at him and then at the ground. "You still want to do that?" she asks and he nods, smiling sadly before giving her a look of despair. "I didn't think you did," she whispers, looking down at the sheets on the bed. "I'm sorry," she whispers and he nods, taking her hand back.

He then pulls her into his arms and holding her tightly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you so much," she whispers and he smiles, closing his eyes tightly and kissing her once again. "I don't know what I would've done if you died and we never got to do this," she says and he chuckles, kissing her cheek.

"Me neither," he whispers and she kisses his cheek before going and sitting down beside him on the bed, the side where his good arm is.

They spend the next day in the hospital, Emma coming in and out between there, the station, and the loft. He gets to leave the night after that and goes back home with Emma rather than to his father's house or back to Granny's (which was mostly Emma's doing because she doesn't want him to set Granny's on fire.)

They walk back to her house, Emma carrying Neal's backpack that Belle had brought him earlier in the day. "I should be taking that from you," he says and Emma shakes her head, continuing to walk forwards. "I can carry stuff, you know," he says and she just continues to shake her head, not wanting to fight with him just before they're about to see Henry.

They walk up the steps to her parent's apartment Emma opens the door, holding it open for Neal and then putting the backpack down beside it on the ground. "Here," she whispers, walking into the kitchen and handing him a water bottle. He fumbles around with it for a second before figuring out how to pick it up with the 'wrong hand.'

Emma smiles at him, tilting her head to the side as she watches this scene unfold before her. No, the next few days would not be easy for Neal. Yes, he would get unbearably frustrated about the smallest of things, such as putting a shirt on. But Emma will be there with him every step of the way just like always.

They wake up the next morning and Emma rolls over onto her stomach, looking up and seeing Neal smiling down at her. "Hey," she mumbles, still half asleep but smiling as bright as she possibly can. He smiles sleepily and waves at her. She moves up on the bed, throwing her arm across his chest and putting her head down on his shoulder.

He smiles and tangles his hand up in her hair, running his hand through it and holding her as close as he can. The sling isn't on his arm right then and Emma vaguely remembers him taking it off the night before. "Did Whale say you could take it off to sleep?" she asks and Neal nods, grabbing some doctor's instruction papers off of the nightstand and handing them to her.

She nods, reading through it. She gets up, throwing some clothes on and going downstairs to make Henry some breakfast. Neal gets up, attempting to wrestle a t-shirt on only using one hand, which ended pretty terribly and he ended up throwing it across the room at the dresser.

He hears footsteps running upstairs and then Emma's at the door, peeking inside before running inside and finding Neal standing, not able to get the shirt on with the cast on his arm. "Here," she says, taking it from him and helping him and he sighs, thanking her before she leaves.

It takes him what feels like forever to get a pair of jeans on and then he runs down the staircase, sighing and flopping down onto the couch. He stands up a few minutes later and walks into the kitchen, taking the knife from Emma and attempting to help her cut up some eggs.

He ends up dropping the knife many times and some of the eggs even go off the plate. He groans before walking away, going to sit on the couch. Emma turns off the stove and walks over to him, sitting down on the couch next to him. "What's wrong?" she hums, taking his hand. He pulls his out of hers and sighs, turning his head.

"I can't do anything and my arm hurts," he says and Emma sighs, going over to him and kneeling up on the couch, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She kisses his cheek, which makes him smile for a split second, but then something reminds him of all of this and he's right back in angry-town.

Henry runs down the stairs and sees his mother trying to console his father, which isn't going too well by the looks of it. "Dad, you okay?" he asks, but Neal doesn't respond. Instead of walking away like most people would, he walks over to his father and sits on the coffee table in front of him.

Emma backs up a little bit so that Neal can focus on Henry and not her trying to throw herself at him. "Your arm hurts, right? And you're upset because it's basically rendering you incapable of doing crap? Well, it's okay. I broke my arm, too. I was eight and Regina made me wear sweatpants to school for the whole time I was in the full cast because she thought that I wouldn't be able to put jeans on by myself," he explains and Neal laughs a bit, imagining a little Henry running around the place with sweatpants on and a cast.

Emma smiles before she starts talking, contributing to the story. "I broke my wrist when I was 14. It was torture because I couldn't do anything like swimming with my friends at the pool or any of that, but when it came off my foster mom let me skip school and we went to the pool and I did the biggest cannon ball into the pool. I had a red mark on my legs for weeks but it was worth it. We can do that. Heck, we _will_ do that. Save the date, Cassidy, May 8th, we are going to to the freaking pool," she says and he smiles, laughing a bit and Emma kisses his head.

Henry takes his dad's hand and smiles. "You might not be able to do a lot, but we'll help you until you can. We get it. We're your family. We'll help you," he says to Neal and he smiles, pulling Henry into as much of a hug as he can.

Neal smiles, looking in between Emma and Henry and smiling. "I love you guys. Thank you," he says and Emma smiles, kissing his cheek. They then make breakfast and send Henry off to school. They then go and walk towards the door, kissing each other before Emma helps him put his coat on and they go off to the station for work.


	44. They Do For Her

**This absolutely is the last update for the day. I promise.**

 **This is a requested sequel from Swanbeliever (guest) for He Does For You (chapter 54) which was a request from oncer4life11. Whoa, that's a mouthful. Okay, anyway, enjoy this chapter that almost made me cry while I was writing it.**

Henry wakes up, hearing a shuffling noise from the other room. After years and years of being the only one there, he knows he should go and wake his mommy up from her bad dream. He jumps out of bed and runs down the hallway as fast as his tiny legs will carry him.

He throws open the already cracked door and stands in shock, his mouth wide open and his eyes big as saucers. His mother is in the bed, right beside his father, who has his arms wrapped around her from the side and is holding onto her tight, whispering things into her ear.

He looks up at Henry and sees the little boy's shocked expression. It's almost as if Henry forgot that Neal was there now. Emma looks up at the sudden stop of the whispers and stroking of her hair and sees Henry standing there.

She then remembers everything from her nightmare. It seems like still, even after it's all over, it comes back in flashes. "Oh, Henry," she whispers and he runs over to the bed, his mother pulling him up to her and holding him tightly just like she used to after she had bad dreams about the monsters.

Neal smiles at the scene unfolding before him and rubs Emma's back while the mother and son hold onto each other for different reasons. Emma because she's glad that her son is safe and none of what she saw in her dream was real; Henry because he's scared that his mother's not okay.

Emma's crying, Henry's holding onto her as tight as she can, and Neal is just watching. He's not sure how he feels about that just yet, but he knows that Emma was there when he couldn't be and that Henry grew up with Emma, not him. That bond that they have is going to stick together, and he's fine with that. He just hopes that maybe one day, he'll have his own with the both of them.

Neal's heart breaks as Emma loosens her hold on Henry and he moves out of her arms, crawling away from her and jumping off the bed. He runs out of the room and down the hallway, to some other room in the house.

Both of his parent's make eye contact before hopping out of bed, themselves, to go and look for the small child. Neal goes out into the living room and Emma goes off to the other end of the house, checking the bathroom, closet, and his bedroom. She checks the bedroom last and finds him sitting on the bed, holding something in his hands.

She smiles sadly until she hears a sniffling and her heart breaks, too. Neal comes up behind her in the room but she shakes her head. He nods, getting the message and turning around, going to go and make some hot cocoa for his family.

Emma walks over to the bed, sitting behind Henry on it as if she's about to look over his shoulder. "Henry, why'd you leave the room?" Emma asks. For a second she doesn't get a response and she's about to repeat the question when Henry starts talking.

He touches his picture, just like always, even though Emma doesn't know that he has his picture in his room. "Daddy got it. Daddy does good," he says and Emma tilts her head to the side. She picks her head up a little bit to look over the boy's shoulder and sees one of his pictures that she gave him in his hands. One of the ones of just Henry and Emma together alone.

She sighs and closes her eyes, fighting off tears. She stands up off of the bed and moves around to the other side of it, going to sit beside Henry. "Henry does good, too. I like Henry's hugs," she says and he shakes his head, looking at the picture before putting it underneath his pillow, where she assumes it's always been.

He moves the pillow over it carefully as he speaks. "Daddy's hugs are better," he says. Emma sighs as he moves in back to sit on the bed beside her, looking up at her with red, puffy little eyes that make her heart break and melt at the same time. "That's why Mommy doesn't need me anymore. 'Cause Mommy has Daddy now," he says and Emma watches as his eyes fill up with tears and he looks at the bed, not wanting to look up at her and make her cry, too.

She gets that awful feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watches sobs begin to wrack her little boy's body and she reaches over and picks him up, holding him on her lap. "Henry, baby," she whispers tearfully as he just cries and cries, turning his head and holding onto the back of her shirt, just like always. "Why do you think that? Did somebody tell you that?" she asks him.

Henry picks his head up and shakes it, trying to use his short sleeves to wipe his nose. She reaches over and grabs a kleenex off of the bookcase and hands it to him, smiling a bit at his silliness. "No. I can tell, though. Mommy doesn't talk to me like she used to. Mommy talks to Daddy more," he says.

A chill runs through her bones as she figures it out. She _has_ been doing that. She hasn't been doing as much with Henry because she's been hanging around with Neal a lot, too. He feels left out! "Why didn't you tell me that, Henry?" she asks and he looks up at her, shrugging and leaning back against her chest. She smiles softly and wraps her arms tighter around him.

She kisses his head and thinks for a minute before getting an idea. "Okay, well… do you wanna go to the park with Mommy and Daddy tomorrow?" she asks and Henry shakes his head, playing with Emma's hand. She tilts her head to the side and looks down at him before closing her eyes tight and asking a hard question. "Why not?" she asks.

Henry picks his head up off of her chest and looks up at her, sighing as heavily as a four year old can. "I don't want Daddy to feel bad if I go with you. You're supposed to go together, by yourselves. No Henry," he says and Emma sighs, pulling him back to her chest and holding him tight, never wanting him to feel this way again.

She loosens her grip after a minute and looks down at Henry, looking him in the eye and smiling as best she can at him. "I'm sure that Daddy would _love_ if Henry wanted to go," she says and Henry smiles, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "But, just to be sure, how about we go and check?" she asks and Henry nods, jumping out of her arms.

He runs down the hall screaming his father's name, completely fueled with excitement and his arms out wide. Neal catches him and picks him up, holding him on his side. "Daddy, can I go with you and Mommy to the park tomorrow?" Henry asks and Neal nods, smiling brightly as he puts a lid on a cup and hands it to Henry.

"Of course, buddy! But right now it's bed time, so how about you finish your hot cocoa and then we can all go and sleep," he says, still a little bit tired from waking up so early. Henry nods, taking another sip from his cup and looking up at Neal, who watches him with a wide smile on his face.

Henry takes his mouth off of the cup to say something. "Can I sleep with Mommy and Daddy?" he asks and Neal nods, smiling at the boy. He gulps down his hot cocoa and all of them go into the master bedroom, Henry lying practically on top of Neal's chest, curled up in a little ball. Neal smiles at Emma, reaching over and pulling her to him, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her head.

They all fall asleep slowly, tangled up in a massive pile of limbs, but glad that they're with their family.


	45. The Beauty Through the Pain

**This is a tad bit shorter than normal but that's okay because I wrote it before school. So, this will like, never happen, but we had a delayed start where I live because of the hurricane on the Texas coast and we've had a crap-ton of rain, so I had time to do this in the time that we were supposed to be at school, but were not. Enjoy!**

Henry stands outside Emma's door and sighs, putting his foot down once again and hitting the door with the palm of his hand. "Mom, just open the door! You're not gonna hurt me!" he yells, but Emma doesn't say anything back to him. She just continues to sit on the floor by the window and covering her head with her forearms.

Henry sighs and tries to think of what to do for his mother. This all started happening when Neal came back. The last time, it did when Ingrid wanted it too. That was why her magic was flaring up. So, if he could stop that from continuing, maybe it would make her better! He takes his phone out of his pocket and calls his father, figuring that if he calls him, he might be able to fix Emma just like Elsa did.

He picks up on the second ring and Henry doesn't even say 'hello' before getting right into it. "Mom's magic is flaring up. You gotta come help her," he says. He can hear some shuffling around before the phone beeps, signaling that he hung up on him. Henry sighs, leaning against the doorframe and closing his eyes, rubbing them over his face.

That wasn't how you're supposed to end phone calls with people, especially your child who's calling you for help. He goes over to the living room and sits on the couch, taking a sip of water and leaning back, trying to think about what to do to get his mom out of her room. He can't pretend that he's hurt or anything, that would be mean. No, he has to do something else.

He sits against the back of the couch for a few minutes before getting an idea. He stands up and goes into the kitchen, grabbing some paper and pens and he draws her a picture, writing a note on it before sliding it under the door of her bedroom.

She stands up and walks over to the other side of the room quickly before retreating back to her safe little spot out of the way of the sparking light in the middle of the room. She smiles as she looks at it and the light gets calmer for a second, until she looks up and notices it and then it goes right back to volcano-ing.

She hears another knock on the door and she sighs, looking up at it. She knows that it's Henry, once again, coming back to try and get her to open the door, but she can't. She can't risk hurting him with this. Just as he goes into his second round of knocking, the doorbell rings and he stops, going to answer the door.

There stands Neal, bathed in sweat and still wearing pajamas, probably because it's 6:30 in the morning. "Sorry, my cars at the shop. Where's your mom?" he asks Henry. Neal follows him to the back of the house where Emma's room is located. He stands outside the door while Henry knocks on it and sighing.

Emma looks down at the ground and sighs, not wanting to listen to the constant knocking on the door anymore. "Emma, it's me. Open the door," Neal calls to her from the other side and she sighs, shaking her head even though she knows that he can't see her. "I swear I will pick the lock on this door unless you open it," he says, and she still refuses to open the door until he looks to Henry, who goes to grab a paper clip.

He comes back a few minutes later and Neal kneels down on the ground, reaching up and picking the lock on the door until it clicks undone and he hands the paper clip back to Henry, opening the door before closing it again and locking it behind him. He doesn't want Henry to see his mom that way.

He sees the light sparking like it's nobody's business, the outlets doing the same. He sighs and walks over to her slowly, not wanting to scare her and make it worse. He kneels down in front of her a few feet away and sighing. "Go away," he hears her mumble, but he can't really hear her over all the noise the lights are making.

He shakes his head but she nods. He sits against the wall beside her and sighs. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until this stops," he says and she shakes her head, looking down at ground. "You need to stop this. It's time to stop being afraid of yourself, Emma. You're the only person that's able to break the laws of magic, that's how you brought me back. You can stop this. You just need to trust me. Take my hand," he says and she looks up at him with tears falling from her eyes because of his speech.

"But, this could kill you," she says tearfully and he shakes his head, looking over at her and smiling.

"I believe that it won't. You have to, too," he says and she shakes her head, looking down at the ground and letting out a shaky sigh. He nods, reaching over to her. "Take my hand," he whispers and she sighs once again, reaching over with her hand and taking his.

A light goes around the room and the ceiling fan and outlets stop. He smiles, reaching over and pulling her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. "There you go," he whispers. He kisses her head, again. She's still shaking and it seems that the new change in the room hasn't helped her too much on the nerves side of things. "You're okay. See, it didn't hurt anybody. Now we know what works," he says and she smiles nervously looking up at him. "Now, let's go. I could practically see the kid screaming 'ice cream' in his mind earlier," he says.

She laughs and they get up, walking out of the room to go and do just that, even though Neal's in pajamas and Emma's outfit for the day consisted of a t-shirt and leggings.


	46. Fear

**This kind of update day will rarely, and I mean** _ **rarely,**_ **ever happen again on a weekday unless I'm on a break from school. I have to go to bed, please review on this. I love waking up and checking them before I go get ready for school, it makes my day a little bit brighter every time!**

 **This was requested by I kinda like OUAT (guest). I hope you enjoy it and I will be more than happy to rewrite it if it isn't what you meant! Enjoy everyone!**

Henry takes out the DVD from the Blueray player and looks over to the corner of the room, shuddering as he sees the clown from the movie in the corner of the room. He blinks rapidly and runs up the staircase, turning on his bedroom light.

He walks into the bathroom, brushing his teeth, but leaving the door open, much differently than he normally does when he gets ready for bed. He throws his shirt on as well, walking into the main part of his room and closing the bathroom door before turning the light off and going to lay down in his bed.

He looks up at the little glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, the window; anything to distract him from the images flowing through his head about what he saw in the movie. He shakes his head and closes his eyes, trying to think about something else besides the horrifying images that might just be permanently residing in his brain.

He gets up and closes the blinds and curtains to his window before laying back down. He reaches over and turns on the noise machine beside his bed, the one that he only uses every so often when he needs to take his mind off of the noises coming from the house and the people outside of it.

He closes his eyes tightly, hoping that he does it hard enough, the pictures will mix in between the many colors taking over the backs of his eyes. He sighs, reaching onto the nightstand and turning on the lamp before taking out his book, reading a few pages of it before setting it away. It seemed to have done the trick while he was reading it, but once he put it down, he was reminded of why he needed it in the first place.

He takes out some of the sleeping pills that his parent's let him keep in the drawer, only for the worst sleeping nights, and took two of them with the glass of water sitting on top of the nightstand. He sighs and lays back down, letting the pills do their job over time and eventually falling asleep forcefully.

Then, BAM! He's awake again and he's not falling back asleep anytime soon. His heart hammering in his chest and his mind spinning, he races to his parents room and goes and lays down beside his mom in his father's place, wondering why he isn't there for a split second before remembering that he was at his grandfather's for the night.

Emma rolls over at the extra weight on the bed to find her twelve year old son laying there, absolutely petrified. Sweat running down his face and breathing faster than could possibly healthy, he turns and looks at her. "Henry, what's wrong?" she asks sleepily, wondering why he could possibly be awake and one in the morning.

He looks up at the ceiling and mumbles something completely incoherent. She tilts her head towards him and he repeats it louder this time. "Dad let me watch the scary movie, the one about the clown. I had a nightmare," he says and Emma sighs, looking over at the window and closing her eyes tightly. _Fan-freakin-tastic._

She nods and pulls him into her arms, holding onto him tightly and he soon falls asleep. Part of her wants to text Neal and ask him what could've possibly possessed him to think that letting Henry watch even a clip of that movie would be a good idea, but she knows it's pointless. Her boyfriend, as much as she loves him, could make some pretty foolish decisions sometimes and she was normally the one that would have to correct them, this one included.

She slowly begins to fall asleep alongside her son, making a mental note to call Neal out on his error in the morning when he gets home from his father's house.

The alarm goes off the next morning and Emma's up, getting dressed and running downstairs to make a breakfast just like every morning. She opens the fridge only to find that they don't have eggs and she sighs, closing it and going to the counter to grab a muffin when the door opens and she freezes, looking towards it.

Lo and behold, there stands Neal, a grocery bag in hand and his backpack over his right shoulder. "Hey, I stopped at the store and got some eggs, I thought we wou- Whoa, okay, what's with the murder stare?" he asks upon turning around. A murder stare couldn't even begin to describe the look in her eyes. If looks could kill, he'd be dead and ten times over.

She bites her lip and stands, taking the bag from him and putting the eggs in the fridge. She couldn't filter many of her thoughts right then, but the one that she could was the decision that the eggs would be on him, not a pan, if they stay out for this conversation they're about to have.

She leans against the counter, her hand on it and her head tilted to the side. "Did you let Henry watch that movie last night?" she asks and he nods, setting his backpack down on the couch and she sighs, looking over at him as he walks back over and looks at her fearfully. "The one that I specifically said that he couldn't watch until I'd seen it?" she asks and he nods sheepishly.

She lets out a huff, clenching her fist up and squinting her eyes closed as best she can. "Neal, really? I mean _come on!_ He's terrified! He came into our room at one in the morning to come and sleep with me because he had a nightmare! What were you _thinking?"_ she asks and he opens his mouth in shock as she begins yelling profanities, making him wonder just how badly this movie might have scarred their son.

After a few minutes she stops and he nods, looking down at the ground and sighing. "I'm sorry. You were right, I wasn't thinking. I should've thought about it before I let him see it and I won't let him see any other horror movie ever again. I promise," he says and she sighs, looking over at him and nodding curtly before opening the fridge and taking the eggs back out.

She watches him mope for a few minutes after that and she realizes that what she said might have been a little much. She walks over to him at the table and gives him a hug, closing her eyes and smiling a bit. "I'm sorry I said those things. I was just mad because Henry got scared. I still love you," she promises and he smiles, hugging her back before she walks away and continues on breakfast as if nothing happened.

That night, Henry stays with them sleeps like a rock through the whole night.


	47. Maybe Closer Than Before

**This was just an idea I've had for a while. I might write a few more of the 'what if Tamara wasn't a bad guy' things but for now, I just wanna see the response to this. Enjoy!**

Henry watches in complete and total terror and shock as the shadow swoops down and rips off Greg's shadow. The lost boy's all look to the man's body and Tamara turns around and looks at him, sounding genuine for the first time _ever._ "Run!" she yells at him and he goes off, speeding through the forest.

He hears footsteps behind him, probably hers as they run through the woods. He sees a little slope and then flat land and mentally cheers, knowing that's his way out of this. He runs and runs, finding it hard to do so with the zip-tie around his wrists.

Suddenly, he feels something snag on his shoelace and he starts falling. He hits the ground and cries out and he feels someone helping him up, running over to the little hiding spot and they stop, waiting for the lost boys to pass. He opens his eyes and through his tears, he sees Tamara, crouched down and just a little bit taller than him.

She puts her fingers to her lips and moves, going up the slope a little bit until she can see that the last of the boys have turned the corner looking for them. She goes back down and takes a pocket knife out of her coat pocket, cutting the white band around his wrists and sighing. "Are you okay?" she asks, concerned as she helps him take off his jacket and then unbuttons his flannel shirt.

He hisses as she carefully takes his arm and inspects it, sighing and falling back against the slope. She covers her face with her hand and takes her hand off of his arm. "What did I do? What did I do?" he hears her mumble and he doesn't know what to say.

He waits for her to finish her state of regret and guilt and she comes back over to him, lifting his arm up carefully so she can look at it again. He lets out a groan and she sighs, looking up at him and shaking her head. "It's broken, I have to reset the bone," she says and he tenses up in fear, starting to try to inch away from her. He knows it'll hurt, he's broken a bone before.

She puts her hand on his knee and looks at him with a look of caring and concern before she bites her lip. "It's gonna hurt and- I need to find a stick," she says and he smiles lightly, seeing her eyes light up as she figures out that she needs to make a splint. Now he sees why his dad liked her, she was just like him… and his mom.

Dear _God,_ does he miss his moms. Maybe if they got stuck here, Tamara would be kinda like his mom. If not, maybe like his big sister, like Emma said that one of her foster mothers was kinda like when she was in the system. "Okay, I found a… hey, are you crying? What's wrong? Is it your arm?" she asks and he shakes his head, smiling a bit and shaking his head again before wiping his tears away with his arm that wasn't broken.

She takes off her scarf and sets the stick on top of it. She grabs a round, smooth rock from next to them and hands it to him, letting him squeeze it. She takes his arm in both of her hands and gives him a look, making sure he's ready before tugging on one side and holding the other still. He holds back a scream as there's a click and it's obvious that the bone is back in place.

She picks up the stick and puts it on his arm, using it and a magazine that she just so happened to have on the inside of her coat pocket to hold his arm up before wrapping her scarf around them and using his scarf to make a little bit of a sling for the time being. "There you go," she whispers and he leans forwards, giving her a hug.

She sits in shock for a second before giving him a hug back. He smiles at her and she smiles back up at him, who had moved from the ground to a rock. "Now we wait, kid," she whispers and he nods, taking his video game from Regina out of his pocket and beginning to play it, waiting for Tamara to do whatever she was doing.

They sit, talking for a while and being quiet for a while until they hear something. "Henry?!" They hear a voice calling. Then, there are multiple voices, one's coming from both sides. One of them sounds like it could be a single person and the other sounds like the whole freaking gang of lost boys.

Henry tenses up and Tamara puts her hand on his arm before looking up and doing something that Henry truly thought would be dangerous. "Over here!" she yells and there's running from both ends before people come and stand on the outside of the pit. Tamara looks up only to find Neal and Emma standing there, shocked looks on their faces.

She helps Henry get out before she does and sighs, dusting the dirt from her clothes. "What happened to him?" Neal asks, gritting his teeth and obviously just about ready to push her up against a tree and hold a knife to her throat, and that's saying something because he has his own morals when it comes to getting mad at girls.

She looks in between everyone and sighs, leaning against a tree a bit and explaining while panting. "We got here, and let's just say, I misunderstood. He fell and I think broke his arm while he was running over here. I reset it and used a stick and some old magazine I found in my pocket in it to make a splint," she says and Neal looks over at her, obviously trying to decide between being mad or grateful.

He chooses the latter and walks over to her, giving her a bone crushing hug. "By the way, I think we're done," he says and she laughs out loud, nodding before putting her hands in her pockets and smiling at him. He turns to look at Emma and him family and Tamara leads Henry back so that his parents could talk for a minute.

Neal looks to Emma and smiles before rushing over to her and wrapping her up in his arms, holding onto her tightly. He feels tears soaking through his shirt but they stop as soon as they ever started. "You're back," she whispers and he nods, smiling brightly as he lets go. She reaches up and kisses her on the cheek and Tamara lets out a short 'aww' before they make their way back up to the ship, everybody safe and sound.


	48. The Way It Ended

**Guess who's sick? Me! Here's this thing that took me three days to write and actually isn't any longer than some other story on here. Enjoy!**

The door closes behind him to Gold's shop. The smell of all the dusty and old antiques made him cough a bit as he walks up to the counter and looks up at his father. "Hey," he says and his dad nods, sorting some cards out and putting them in a box. "So, uh… I- what's going on? Like, with Emma? She keeps on saying she's fine but I can see that she's not and I just- I wanna know. I need to help her," he says and Gold nods, closing the box and putting it in the drawer under the register.

He looks up at Neal and turns around, grabbing a rusty old book from the safe behind the photograph on the wall. "This pretty much explains it, Son. I trust you'll know to bring this back when you're done with it?" he asks and Neal nods, turning around and walking out of the shop.

He sits down at the table outside Granny's and leans against it. Ruby comes out and takes his order- one black coffee- and he opens the book once she leaves. The first page doesn't make too much sense, seeing as it was more about what happens to a Dark One's soul once they're killed and the power is taken from them.

He reads through the first few pages when he finally gets to the page that he needs to in order to find out what actually happens to a Dark One's soul when they're still _alive._ He's not too shocked by what he finds because it's what he was expecting to happen immediately after the magic was taken from Emma. What he's shocked about is how she could have possibly been able to keep it from him for this long.

He sighs and takes a sip of the coffee that Ruby brought over as he reads the list on the page. It was awful to even think about any of this happening to his Emma, but it was completely possible. It made his heart break. After he gets through the next few pages, finding nothing else that was useful, he takes out his phone and went back to the page.

He made a note on his phone of all the things on it, knowing that he won't remember much of this on his own. He walks back to his father's shop, giving him back the book silently before walking back out, not having said a word. He then walks over to Emma's parent's place, walking up the steps.

She's been staying there since the darkness was taken out of her, claiming that her house was still just too dark, but he had a feeling that it was just because she didn't want to be alone.

He takes out his keys and uses it to open the lock, opening the door and going inside. He knows that Snow and David were out with Henry and the baby at some event or something, so Emma would be home alone and they could talk about this. He turns to look over at the couch and finds his best friend (and sort of girlfriend) sitting there, her face red and tears falling from her eyes.

She's curled up, her knees to her chest and her arms around them as if she's trying to protect herself from something invisible. He turns and looks at the other side of the room, where she's staring. There's nothing there and he assumes that this is either where the 'hallucinations' or 'flashbacks' part of the book comes in.

He walks over to her slowly and sits on the coffee table in front of her, reaching over and taking her hands, holding them tightly. "Hey," he whispers, catching her attention a little bit before she looks back over his shoulder at whatever she's seeing behind him. "Don't look over there, look at me," he whispers, reaching up and putting his hand on her shoulder. "Don't," he whispers, standing up and sitting beside her on the couch.

He wraps his arms around her, his hand on the back of her head so that she can't look over at the other side of the room where whatever she was seeing resided. "C'mere," he whispers, holding onto her. She picks her head up and rests her chin on his shoulder. There are a few minutes of silence before she picks it up and sighs, wiping her tears before looking over at him.

He pushes her hair behind her ear and smiles at her sadly. "Why didn't you tell me, Em? I could've helped you," he whispers and she shakes her head, looking down at the floors and sighing. "Yes, I could. I will. I don't care how bad it is, I'm gonna take care of you," he whispers and he takes her hands in his.

It's then when he's able to feel just how much she's shaking and how badly she's sweating and he sighs, smiling softly and he leads her upstairs. "How about you get in the shower, hmm?" he asks but she shakes her head, looking away from his eyes and down at the floor. He pulls her against his chest, holding on tight and kissing her cheek.

He nods, leaning back and kissing her forehead. "Come on," he whispers and grabs her some clothes from the dresser- pajamas, actually- and leads her into the bathroom. He leaves the door open behind them, knowing that he'll be leaving for a moment. "Now, you gotta take your makeup off and take your hair out of the thingy," he tells her and she nods as he begins walking to the door.

He walks to the frame and she follows him, ready to close the door behind him. He then turns around, looking her in the eye. "Oh, and Em?" he asks, watching as she looks up from the mat on the floor that's enveloping her feet in some weird warmth. "Remember to breathe," he says and she nods, smiling. He closes the door then, leaving her to do her thing while he waits.

He runs down the staircase and starts the dryer, the one that was already done, and waits until he hears the water turn off and Emma's swearing to run back downstairs, grabbing a warm towel out of it. He goes into the room and finds Emma's head peeking out of the shower curtain. He hands the towel to her and she gives him a grateful smile before he leaves the room, going to sit on her bed.

He hears her shuffling about for a hairbrush after a few minutes and he grabs it off of her dresser, opening the door and smiling. She smiles back and reaches out to take the brush. "Nope. Turn around," he says and she scoffs, chuckling a little bit and he begins to run the brush through her wet and tangled hair, careful not to hurt her. Once he's done, he reaches over and puts the brush on the counter, putting his hands on her waist and looking at them through the mirror. "See, don't you like you?" he asks and she tilts her head to the side, putting her hand on his. "Well, I like you," he whispers.

He turns her around and kisses her softly before reaching over and putting his wet, cold hand on her back. She gasps and looks at him wide eyed. "Neal!" she shrieks and he laughs, running out of the room. She runs into her room and runs downstairs, following him with a pillow. She eventually catches up to him and hits him in the head with it and he laughs.

Then, she starts laughing, too. Twenty minutes later, they're sitting on the couch and half passed out on top of each other at nine o'clock. Neal slowly comes to his senses and helps Emma up, walking upstairs and laying her down on the bed before climbing in next to her. He rolls over and wraps his arms around her from behind, smiling softly. "You rest, Em. I'll keep you safe," he whispers and she falls asleep slowly, unaware of nothing but his arms around her, keeping her safe and warm.

That night, he wakes up to the bed shaking like an earthquake is hitting and for a second, he wonders why before he opens his eyes and finds Emma laying there in his arms, shaking hard and fast and he rolls her onto her back before reaching up to her shoulder and shaking it even more than it already is in hopes of waking her up.

He does this for a long time, there's nothing happening. Just more shaking. "Emma," he whispers, shaking her a little bit harder, hoping to wake her up with that, but nothing happens. "Em," he says, just a little bit louder and hoping desperately that she would be waking up soon instead of being stuck wherever she was. "Emma!" he says even louder, which makes him shake her more and sends the blankets tumbling off the edge of the bed.

He sighs but doesn't try to catch it. She's shaking even harder now on her own, without his hands on her shoulders. He reaches down and pulls her against his chest, but still, she doesn't wake up. He lets go after a minute and sighs, leaning back for a second before leaning back down and kissing her softly.

She wakes up and he leans back. She opens her eyes wide and lets out a short shriek, hitting him before pushing him away. He leans away from her for a minute until she wakes up completely and looks over at him, her eyes filling up with tears rapidly and it's not because of what was in her dream.

She lets out a high pitched sob and he shakes his head, some sort of secret communication going on between them. "I'm sorry," she cries and he shakes his head once again, already moving closer to her and pulling her against him. "I-I didn't-," she can't even talk, really. She isn't able to find the words to just say what's going on.

He shakes his head and holds onto her tightly, closing his eyes as hard as he can. "It's okay. You didn't mean to," he promises and continues to just hold onto her, not wanting her to think even for a second that the fact that she hit him on accident would make him leave. No, he was in this for the long run and this was some kind of little fluke.

It wasn't her fault. He knows that. He knows that she thinks that he'll be leaving, probably within the next few minutes or hours or something, but he won't. He'll be there until his last dying breath because he loves her more than anything besides their son. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm fine, it's okay," he whispers and she shakes her head against his chest, leaning against it more and he holds her up, just like always.

After a few minutes of sitting like this, she calms down a little bit and his arms loosen around her. Her forehead goes against his chest and she's breathing heavily, his hand rubbing her back as she calms down a bit more than before. "You wanna talk about it?" he asks, still sitting like this with her.

She sits up and shakes her head, wiping her eyes of the almost-dried tears. He nods and grabs and tissue off of the nightstand for her. She takes it and blows her nose before reaching over and throwing it away. "Okay," he whispers and lays back down, pulling her back into his arms. "I'm not going anywhere. Whatever it was, it's not real anymore. I'm right here," he whispers and she nods, settling down into his chest and for the first time since she was the Dark One, she actually falls asleep after a nightmare.


	49. Not Dark Yet, Princess

**It's my birthday! I didn't have time to write today because I was busy, so here's this mostly pre-written story here. Enjoy!**

Emma walks into the diner, causing everyone to turn around, looking at her. She doesn't know why, she's not even wearing anything different than usual, but they still stare at her like she's done something wrong. "Well, carry on consuming at your usual rate, don't stop on my account," she mumbles, going up to the counter even though she sees her whole family sitting in the back of the restaurant.

Nobody's been exactly kind to her since she sacrificed herself for Regina, even though she hasn't done anything dark at all. She sits in her normal seat, and Ruby walks over to her in her diner outfit that wasn't exactly modest. "Well, hello, Dark One, what can I get you today?" she asks in the snottiest voice possible. Emma looks down at the counter, sighing heavily. Ruby looks at her and waits, sighing, and shifting her weight.

Emma looks up at her, trying not to make any sort of remark that would make people any more against her. Ruby was good at gossiping, so if she said anything, they would definitely hear all about it. "Grilled Cheese, French Fries, and a Root Beer," she says, sighing, knowing full well that Ruby has her order memorized and is just trying to piss her off so she'll go crazy and use her powers that she gained as the Dark One to express it.

Ruby chuckles as she writes it down, looking at her. "You're pretty boring even as the Dark One, aren't you? You should go sit with your family. Maybe Neal and you can bond over the darkness that you've both witnessed," she says, walking away snottily. Emma blinks exaggeratedly, trying not to say anything mean as the sassy waitress walks away.

Neal watches as this happens, doing the same as Emma does once it's all over. "Dad!" Henry practically shouts. Emma turns around, and Neal gives her a mean look as she does so. She turns back around, mouthing a 'sorry' to him. "You were staring again," he says as Neal looks at him with a look of concern. "You should go talk to her. Nobody does anymore. I bet she's lonely," he says, looking at his mother while his father does the same.

Neal shakes his head, looking over at Henry. "She did this to herself. I love her, kid, but I can't risk you losing all your parents," Neal says, looking over at Emma once again before turning his head back to face Henry. Emma looks up at Ruby as she hands her the bag with her food, giving her the same thankful smile as always before turning to leave the restaurant. She glances over at her family in the back of the restaurant on her way out, getting a glare from almost everyone there.

She turns and walks outside, walking down the street and sitting at the docks, taking the food out of the bag and taking a bite out of it. "Hey, Swan!" she hears Leroy yell at her, many footsteps following behind him. She rolls her eyes when he can't see her. "When're you gonna stop hurting our friends?" he calls out to her, making her turn around and look at him. She puts her grilled cheese down on the bag, which was sitting on the dock.

She looks up at Leroy, closing her eyes as the sun was shining in her face. "I haven't done anything to anybody, I haven't even used my new powers once, Leroy." she says, looking up at him, trying to make a point by tilting her head to the side.

He shakes his head, looking at her like she's stupid. "You just expect us to believe you? I don't think so, sister. Have fun with the fish, maybe you won't hurt them," she widens her eyes, wondering what he means right before he bends down, pushing her with great force right into the water. Almost nobody in town knew that she couldn't swim well, except for Neal, of course, which was kind of stupid, seeing as she grew up in the foster system. She didn't even learn how to say the word ambulance correctly until she was ten, and she had already been in one too many times to count.

She tried to turn and grab onto the wall, but it was too slippery. She could feel herself sinking in the water, trying to hold her breath and not let any water into her lungs. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. She couldn't even hear anything besides the pounding in her ears.

She was dying.

Neal saw as Emma walked out of the diner, glaring at her as she left. He looked back at Henry, shrugging. The dwarfs got up to leave almost immediately, but he decided not to question it. "You really should go see her, Dad," he whispers, looking over at his father. His father sighs, blinking. "Promise you'll go see her later." Henry says, and his dad nods.

Neal looks out the window at where Leroy is standing, talking to Emma, just as he beads down and pushes her into the ocean. Neal stands, running out of the diner as fast as he can, but he knows that the docks are far, and Emma can't swim well, not enough to keep her up long enough for him to get to her. She'll drown, probably.

Just that thought is enough to make him run even faster. He gets to the edge and reaches down, grabbing her hands and pulling her up so she's above the water before he bends down more and reaches underneath her arms, pulling her up all the way because he knows she won't be able to. He puts a hand on her back once she's up all the way while she coughs up the water that she inhaled underwater. "Are you okay?" he asks, and she nods, breathing deeply. He rubs her back in circles for a minute before helping her stand up.

She was shivering, he noticed. "You can go now, I'll be fine," she tells him, her teeth chattering. He raises his eyebrow at her, shaking his head and putting his hand on her back as he leads her to the back entrance of Granny's. "Where are you- Neal, we do- you don't have to do this," she says, and he shakes his head at her, leading her upstairs. "Okay," she sighs defeatedly, walking up the staircase into the room.

He opens the door for her, leading her inside and closing the door behind them. She walks inside to the room, and he sits her down on a chair. "I'm gonna go to your room and get some clothes, okay?" he says, but she shakes her head, grabbing his wrist. She looks into his eyes for a good few minutes, a pleading look in her eyes that makes him wonder how much longer she can last on her own.

He turns around, taking a few steps back over to her. He looks at her, seeing all of the hidden heartbreak in her eyes, all of the pain that's come up since all of this happened. "What happened to you, Emma?" he mumbles, and she shakes her head, not willing to tell him what's wrong. He hates himself for those good few minutes. She didn't deserve this. She never deserved any of this, to have him leave her all alone because of something she did to save somebody.

She looks up at him as he kneels down in front of her, taking both of her hands in his, letting go of one to brush the wet hair out of her eyes before taking it back. "I haven't even used my new magic. Not once, not even tried it. I haven't done anything to anybody. I never did anything to anybody, and you still left me, my parents still abandoned me, Henry stopped talking to me, and my friends stopped wanting to hang out. And then, they weren't my friends, you weren't my boyfriend, they weren't my parents, and Henry wasn't my son. It all just went away, and I still dunno why, I mean-... I was alone for so long, Neal." she whispers. The whole time, she's able to hold herself together, just until the end. That's when she wasn't able to do it anymore, and she let out a strangled cry that she'd been holding in since she was at the diner.

He reaches up and pulls her down into his arms, catching her and pulling her against his chest. He holds onto her until she stops crying, then he remembers that she's still cold and wet. He let's go, standing up and walking over to the bathroom, grabbing a towel. He throws it over the side of the shower, and turns it on, making sure it's warm enough. He then walks back out, taking her hand and leading her into the room. "I'll be right out there when you get out, okay? The furthest I'll go is down to the diner to tell your parents what happened, but that's it. I won't even go outside." he promises, and she nods. He doesn't end up going downstairs to tell her parents, but he does go across the hall to get her a pair of shorts to wear to sleep.

It was already almost nine, and he didn't want to bother Snow and Charming, so he just went back, handing her a pair of shorts through the crack in the door. When she came out, she was wearing one of his shirts, because she didn't have one that wasn't absolutely soaked. "I can wash your clothes later, I'll bring them by tomorrow." she smiles and nods shyly. He smiles at her, taking her hand and leading her to the bed.

She lays down, and he smiles at her, looking at her like she's a child. "You okay?" he asks, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed. She smiles tiredly and nods. He takes her hand and kisses it. "You rest, okay? You're not gonna feel good tomorrow, since you swallowed some water that wasn't for drinking, but you'll be fine. I'll stay in here all night, you just sleep. I'll be right here," he whispers as she closes her eyes, nodding slowly. He leans forwards and kisses her forehead, seeing her smiling softly as he pulls away.

He watches her sleep for a little while, just looking at how safe and comfortable she looks. He reaches forwards and caress her cheek with his thumb until she starts moving around and he decides to leave her alone and let her sleep. He stands up and goes to the desk, which is sitting right beside the bed, sitting in the chair, working on a new picture of her. He had to throw out all the ones he had done in the last few weeks because they were all kind of dark, but Emma wasn't dark. She was light.

That's what he drew. What she would've looked like at her first ball, or her first real one, without being in the past, with a goal to bring her parents their wedding ring, but just to be at a ball for fun. He smiles at the finished product, her smiling and all happy in a white dress and a flower crown on her head, dancing around with Henry.

He stares at the picture for a long time, just smiling, until he practically has it memorized. He looks over at her, seeing her sleeping soundly. He gets up, walking across the hallway to her room and getting her something to wear when she wakes up just in case she doesn't want to stay in shorts and one of his t-shirts that's practically a dress on her. He sighs as he opens the door back up, putting the clothes on the arm one of the chairs.

He walks back into the bedroom, sitting down in the chair and just watching her for a few minutes until she starts shaking. He sits up, leaning forwards in the chair a little bit. He watches her for a few more seconds before he starts noticing that she's shaking more violently than she was before. He stands up, walking over to the side of the bed, sitting beside her, taking her hand and shaking her shoulder a little bit. "Em, wake up," he says as loudly as he can without shouting.

He puts his hand on her cheek, squeezing her hand as he feels that she's sweating. He takes his hand off of her face, trying to wake her up once again by shaking her some more. "Emma," he calls out, but she doesn't wake up. A sudden wave of panic washes over him, not knowing if she'll wake up at all or not. "Come on, wake up, Em. You can do it. Just listen to me," he whispers, closing his eyes tightly for a minute, like he was trying to will her to wake up. "Emma!" he shouts after he's finally had enough of this. It's too hard for him to watch her lying there, hurting not being able to do anything about it.

She shoots up in bed, and he pulls her to his chest in one swift motion immediately. Her forehead is against his chest, her arms around him. "It was too dark, it was really, really dark." she mumbles, and he nods, rubbing her back in circles, his chin resting on top of her head. He pulls back, seeing tears falling down her cheeks. He opens his mouth, not knowing what to say. He wipes the tears away, pulling her back to him.

He closes his eyes while he holds her, just glad that she's awake now, even if she's still hurting from the dream. "I know. I know. It's okay, you're not alone anymore. I'm right here." he whispers to her, pulling back again to wipe the tears away again. "Hey," he whispers, sweetly, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "I love you. It's okay," he whispers, putting his leg on the bed, and pulling her onto his lap, kissing her forehead and letting her cry to him.

At least it wasn't as bad as when she woke up, when she was still a little bit out of it and didn't quite know where she was. "I was alone. That was what was bad. I was alone," she cries, and he holds onto her, whispering 'I know,' over and over and over again until it seems almost pointless, but it's not. It helps.

It helps to know that she isn't alone anymore like she was earlier. It helps to know that he's not going to leave her, at least not right now. After a second, he gets an idea and tries to get up to go and grab her a glass of water, but she shakes her head and clings to him so hard that she would be going with him to get it even when he stood up.

He sighs and tugs her arm off of his neck. He gets up and goes to the desk and picks up the water sitting there, walking back and handing it to her. He sits next to her, on the other side this time, and takes the cup from her when she gives it to him, setting it back on the desk.

With his leg behind her, the other off the edge of the bed, she leans against him, letting him take her hand as he holds onto her. "You okay?" he asks and she nods, closing her eyes softly. He smiles and reaches over, turning the lamp off and picking her up, laying her down and she's practically on top of him but she's honestly not awake enough to care.

His hand goes to the side of her head and he kisses her forehead as he hears her breathing calm down and she falls asleep slowly, her body relaxing in his arms.


	50. Rainy Days

**This was requested by oncer4life11. I hope this was good, if not, let me know and I'll write it the way you wanted it (like always). Enjoy!**

Emma sighs, holding a two year old Henry in her arms while he goes on and on about the ladybug currently climbing up his hand. "Neal, I'm serious. It's gonna rain. We should just go back inside and do this later," she says and he shakes his head, flipping over a piece of meat on the grill.

"The Peterson's already said that they're not coming. We can just reschedule it," she tells him, but he scrunches up his nose and just backs away from the grill as a new piece of meat sizzles and boiling oil shoots up and almost gets him in the eye.

She sighs and reaches down and pulls Henry's hand away from a lizard crawling on the grass just a foot away from the bottom step on the deck. "It's fine, Em. You'll see, it won't start-" just then, a giant splat of water shoots down from the sky and gets him right on the nose. "Raining," he sighs and then there's another one, and another, and another.

Soon, it's pouring and Neal's taking everything off the grill, Emma sending Henry to sit by the door inside while she helps him. They go inside and throw everything away and Neal sighs. "Well, that sucked," he whispers and Emma nods, tilting her head to the side and going to give him a hug.

Their little moment is interrupted by a crashing noise and then loud crying from the other side of the counter. Emma stands up straight and looks over at their little boy, who had fallen down and hit his nose on the counter, knocking over one of his big truck toys with him.

She rushes over and Neal grabs a few paper towels, already seeing that he had gotten a little bit of a bloody nose. "Oh, baby," Emma whispers and picks him up, carrying him over to the couch. Neal follows suit and tilts Henry's head back, trying to put a towel under his nose to stop the bleeding.

He guesses the idea of tilting his head back with paper towels under his nose doesn't sit well with Henry as he sits up and hits his head on Neal's hand. That only makes him cry harder and Emma closes her eyes tight, holding onto Henry tighter, too. "Here you go, buddy. It's okay," Neal whispers as Emma tries to at least lean him back a little bit as that might help better than sitting right up.

He settles into her arm and she takes the towel from Neal. Henry looks up at Neal and tilts his head to the side, but waits until Emma takes the towel away so that he doesn't do something bad like bite her on accident or something. "Mama, what if we do the game?" he asks and she tilts her head to the side.

She picks her hand up and brushes her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. "The words game. The one that you and Papa play," he says and Neal looks over at him. He takes Henry's hands, sitting cross-legged towards him and Emma on the couch. Henry sits up and with Emma's arms wrapped around him, he leans forwards and looks at his dad in the eye and Neal waits for him to say something until he realizes that he's not going to.

He looks over at Henry and sighs, putting his hands on the boys knees instead. "Henry…" Neal says and Henry's eyes widen as he waits for whatever his father is about to say or ask or whatever. "Do you mean Scrabble?" he asks and Henry scrunches up his face, and waits until Emma looks over at Neal to say something.

"I don't know. I'm talking about the one with the puzzle thingy on the front," he says and Neal nods, getting up and walking to the cabinet beside the TV. He takes out the game of Scrabble and walks back to Henry, who nods excitedly and holds his hands out. "Yeah, that one!" he exclaims and takes it from Neal.

Neal sighs and looks at Henry, hesitating before bringing up an important point. "Henry, buddy," he whispers, sitting next to him on the couch and putting his hand on the front of the board game box. Henry looks up at him from the box, smiling brightly. "You know you can't spell, right?" he asks and Henry nods, his shoulders dropping and his smile fading. "How about we play Racko, buddy. You know your numbers, right?" he asks and Henry nods, jumping off the couch and running to the cabinet.

He puts the giant Scrabble box away and takes out the Racko container, running back over to the couch. Sadly, with his arms being used to hold the box, when he trips again, he can't catch himself and he lands with a cry. "Well, today just sucks, doesn't it?" Emma asks as Neal gets up and picks Henry up, who completely refuses to drop the box while he cries.

Emma smiles sadly as Neal sits back down beside her and she takes the box from him, setting it on the table beside her. "Henry, buddy, lemme see your arm," Neal whispers and finds a big bruise beginning to form where he landed on it when he fell. "Yikes," he whispers and Emma looks up at him with fear in her eyes for her son, who appeared to have maybe broken his arm when he landed on it.

Still, Henry looks up at his father with big, teary eyes and says something that Neal would never forget. "I wanna play the game, Papa." Neal stifles a chuckle and Emma slaps his arm, not wanting to have Henry hear that his father was laughing at his childish intentions. "My arm hurts," he whispers and Emma nods, picking him up and grabbing her keys.

Twenty minutes later, an x-ray in the hospital proves that there's a tiny fracture in his arm and they slap a cast on his forearm. They go home and Henry runs over to where the game is on the table. "Racko!" he exclaims and both his parents smile, walking over and sitting beside him on the floor and they finally get to do something fun that day.


	51. He's There For Her

She falls into his arms hard and he catches her, holding her up tightly as they stand in the pouring rain, tears falling down her cheeks. The door to the prison closes with a slam but neither of them cared enough in the first place to close it. "You suck," she sobs and he nods, holding her head to his chest.

He bailed her out. It had taken him nearly six months to find where she was and then another three to be able to work up enough money to bail her out, but he hadn't known that after all that time the price would've gone down quite a bit. He only came to see her once or twice and she looked absolutely _awful._ Beautiful, as always, but _awful._

She had dark circles under her eyes from not being able to sleep for nights at a time and even when she was, it was because the nurse was worried that she could literally die because she was so exhausted and her body wasn't building up what it needed. She was hungry, too. Not as much so as before, but it still wasn't enough to keep her healthy.

Even if she did look like an absolute trainwreck, she was his Emma and there was no way he was gonna leave her to rot in a prison cell when he didn't have to. So, he got a second job and he worked as hard as he could, and he was able to get her out of there two months early.

His arms stay around her for as long as she'll let them before she leans back and wraps her arms around herself, almost as if to protect herself from him.

It breaks his heart.

She doesn't even know why he's still there. It's not a requirement to wait outside for the person you're bailing out of prison in the pouring rain. It's not even something they suggest inside on any of the posters. It's just plain… _nice._ And she doesn't understand why.

He talks loudly to make sure she'll hear him over the rain and he walks her over to the cover over the window. "I just… I brought the bug. There's stuff in it for you, if you want it. You can do what you want with it, I mean- it'd be nice if you kept it, but if you don't want to… I get it," he says, handing her her key chain, three keys already placed on it, along with two tags.

"There are keys for the bug, a box at the post office, and my apartment if you want it. The tag has my address on it, in case you change your mind," he says and she nods, taking it from him and smiling gratefully. "So, I guess…" he says and she nods, reaching out and giving him a hug before handing the keys back to him.

She shakes her head and tilts it to the side. "How are you supposed to get home?" she asks and he shakes his head, looking over to the side at the bug, which was parked on the street and still on to keep it warm for her.

He looks back at her from the vibrant yellow car and smiles sadly. "I'll figure it out. Take a bus or taxi or something. You need it more than I do. It is your's, anyway," he says and she nods, looking down at the ground. Tears begin to form in her eyes, but he can't see them because there are raindrops falling down her cheeks.

She sighs and leans back into his arms once again. "Goodbye's suck," she whispers tearfully and he nods, leaning back and kissing her head. She holds onto his arms as her chin waivers and she just waits and waits until she can muster up the courage to walk away, even though she doesn't want to. She wants to go back to his apartment with him and not be alone. But she doesn't quite understand if she's actually welcome there or if it's a pity offer.

So, she looks down at the ground and then back up at him one more time. She then reaches up and kisses his cheek before she forces herself to walk over to the already running car.

Halfway there, though, she hears his voice calling out to her. "Emma, wait," he says. She turns around and looks at him, waiting to see what he wants.

She runs back up to the sidewalk and back under the cover thing and looks at him, waiting to be able to go and sit in the heat of the car. "If you want me to come with you, or if you want to come with me, or whatever… I wouldn't be opposed to it," he says and she smiles, reaching over and snatching his hand up and pulling him, running, into the middle of the parking lot where their car waited.

He hopped into the driver's seat, just like normal, and she smiled. "There are warmer clothes in the back seat if you want," he says and she nods, hopping into the back seat over the center console and skillfully and carefully taking her clothes off without actually not having a shirt on at any point.

About two minutes later, she climbs back into the front seat with the shirt that he picked out for her on and a pair of her old pajama pants on. He gives her a look and she stares back over at him. "What? We'll be in the car all day," she says and he chuckles, nodding and putting the car into gear before beginning to drive off.

About a half hour into the drive, she starts looking like she might just about pass out and he doesn't blame her. "There's sleeping pills and Benadryl in the glove box if you need it. You can rest, it's okay. I know that it was hard for you to sleep there. I'll stay with you," he promises and she nods, reaching into the glove box and using a water bottle to swallow some sleeping pills.

At the next red light, he reaches back and picks up a pillow that he left in there for her in case she had chosen to go on her own. He hands it to her and she props it up against the window, pulling her feet up and using her sweatshirt as a blanket before falling asleep.

He finds himself actually surprised that she's not having a nightmare. She wakes up a few hours later and she's still half asleep. They go through the McDonald's drive-thru and get her a coffee so that she doesn't end up falling asleep again, because she said she didn't want to, and she drinks it slowly. She never really was a coffee person.

It doesn't take them too much longer to get to their first stopping point, where they were staying the night. They stay in a motel, not able to quite afford a hotel but Neal's not broke enough to need to break into one. She cuddles up with him on the bed, glad to just have him there with her after so long without him.

"Hey," he whispers to her, the light's all off and the city dark in the night. She looks up at him, her hand on his chest. "I love you, you know," he whispers and she nods. He kisses her forehead and she looks up at the dreamcatcher on the headboard, like always.

She then looks back at him before settling into his chest. "I love you, too. Just don't go anywhere, okay?" she asks and he nods, kissing the top of her head one more time before both of them go to sleep.


	52. Corners

**So, this is something I wrote at almost 1am and I hope it's good enough because it's like 1,000 words more than usual. This is the first time that I am actually fully admitting to basing something completely off of a song. I don't know if this is a songfic, because to be honest I'm not sure what that means, but I wanted to post this.**

 **I'm going into a little more detail about this. This song is literally my favorite song ever and has been since I heard it, which was around last winter. It's called Corners, that's what the title of the chapter is, too. For some reason this song is completely and totally comforting to me, don't ask me because I don't know why. There are a few parts that really stick out to me and you'll see it. Please please please go listen to this song, even if it's not the whole thing, just at 1:38 of it, which is the bridge and the best part. I get so freaking happy listening to this, I don't know why, so I wrote this smiling impossibly big and trying not to start laughing hysterically. Enjoy!**

Emma never understood what was behind their relationship. It was a weird one and it didn't make a ton of sense, but they never asked questions about it.

It was honest and real. It was nights of her head on his chest, and when they were fighting it was her laying with her head on her pillow instead. Both of them hoping that the other would make a move first because they were too afraid to get yelled at again or to be told that they weren't yet forgiven even after a sincere apology.

It was something comforting; something that they didn't understand then and she doesn't understand now. They're not dating, they've made that clear to each other, but they may as well be. It was as if they were in seventh grade.

Neal would come over or she would go to his room at Granny's, and it would result in them making a mess, cleaning it up, taking a shower to clean _themselves_ up, and falling asleep cuddled up on the bed.

In this process of being best friends, they were learning things about each other. Finding things hidden inside the corners of their souls that maybe they didn't even know about themselves. And it was great. It was everything Neal had hoped for and everything Emma had needed.

It was close in tons of ways with tons of meanings. It was close because they were so close to each other physically. It was close because they were so close to each other in the way that they were near to each other, that they were together; connected. It was close in the way that it was so close to being a relationship more than a friendship, it was crazy.

There comes a day that Neal's never seen before. Emma was actually being _quiet._ He doesn't know what to expect from that. He knows that something is wrong, and it's more than just her being tired. She doesn't seem mad, she seems sad. Like there's something bothering her in a way that was more than just anger.

It was not Emma-like. Lunch had come and gone and she had hardly said more than three things to him since he got to the station. Her texts had all been just a short reply. He watched her as she put the rest of the cold hot-cocoa in the sink before throwing the styrofoam cup in the trash and walking back to her desk slowly.

She did her paperwork without complaining, unlike usual when she didn't shut up about how she hated filling out the same thing eighteen times.

That was when he started actually worrying, worrying. Before it was just a little bit of an annoyance with the quietness, but now he was worried. Emma Swan does not just do her work quietly. She complains about it and that's how she get's through it. Complaining and swearing like a sailor.

So, when she walks into the back room to get another packet of paperwork, leaving her at his desk, he sighs and waits for her to return before taking the papers gently from her and placing it to the side before looking her in the eye. "What's wrong?" he asks and she shakes her head, making a straight face before reaching for the packet.

He notices that she's trying to take it back and slaps his hand over it to prevent her from picking it up and looks back at her. "It's not nothing. You're being quiet. You're not just tired, I know you. If you were tired, you'd be complaining about paperwork and going home at 4:30 today," he says and she sighs, rolling her eyes and leaning back against the office chair. "Did I do something?" he asks and she sends him a glare. If looks could kill, he'd be dead five times over with that one.

He opens his mouth slightly and tilts his head to the side, looking at her concernedly as she reaches for the packet once again. He snatches it up and places it in his lap, rendering her incapable of taking it and starting to work on it. "Hey!" she says and he shakes his head, leaning back against his own chair.

She bites her lip in frustration and looks at him. Her eyes land on his and she sighs, beginning to look more sad now than mad once again. "What's goin' on?" he asks and she shakes her head, looking down at the floor and obviously trying to blink away the tears that are beginning to sting inside of her eyes. Still, he knows that she's upset and he puts the papers down on his chair before going around the desk.

He takes her hand and pulls on it gently and she lets out a sob, closing her eyes tightly. He gives her a sad look and somehow manages to get her to walk from her desk to the blue couch beside the cells. "Em," he whispers, pulling her to him and holding onto her tight. He doesn't know what he did, he doesn't know if he did anything, but he knows that he hates seeing her this upset.

She wraps her arms around him lightly as well under his arms, sobbing so hard that she's incapable of focusing on the placement of her arms around him. Frankly, he doesn't care about how she's hugging him back, he just cares about how he's going to fix whatever is wrong with her. "Hey," he cooes, running his fingers through her hair.

This isn't them. This is not how they would normally be around each other, mostly because Emma hardly ever cries and when she does, it's not around people. They do cuddle up together on nights when they have their own little sleepovers or whatever, but they don't normally play the whole 'being comforted' game. It's weird.

Still, it's somehow comforting and it could be them. It could turn into something that is a part of them, taking care of each other once again. "Emma, hey. Hey, come on. Look at me. What's wrong?" he asks, putting his hand on her shoulder and the other one taking her own hand, not knowing what else to do besides wrapping her up in his arms and snuggling her to death.

She lets out a few more shaky sobs, leaning her forehead against his chest. He puts his hand on her back and rubs it up and down, his other hand holding her still. Once that's over and the sobs have been reduced to fading cries and heavy breathing, a few occasional sniffles incorporated, she leans back and he hands her a tissue off of the table beside the couch.

She uses it to wipe her eyes and then another one to blow her nose, throwing them out in the nearest trash bin, the one next to the closest desk to them.

He looks at her expectantly, waiting for some accusation or something describing why she's upset as she is and she catches on to this, looking out the window. She wrings her hands as she gathers the courage before she says what he's been waiting for this whole time. "I don't want to do this with you anymore," she whispers.

This is when he has to pretend that he didn't just feel his heart drop to his stomach before shattering into ten million pieces.

That was nowhere near what he was expecting from her, and he's actually disappointed. He should've expected this from the beginning, though. She has an actual family; people to protect. She has Henry and her parent's, and a little brother that they'll be meeting in just a few months. It would make sense if she had said she _couldn't_ do this with him anymore, but that wasn't the case. It was that she just didn't _want_ to.

She didn't want to have him texting her constantly, thinking that she would actually be happy to reply instead of knowing that she was rolling her eyes on the other side of the screen and thinking 'really, again?' She didn't want him to be asking to make plans all the time. He should've known from that very first day that he was nothing but a distraction from her mother being pregnant. He was her backup plan in case she was being replaced.

He's not gonna say that to her, though. Not right now. Not when she just got finished breaking down after a long day of being silent. "Oh," he mumbles and nods, looking down at the ground. He feels her eyes on him but he doesn't look at her. He just stands up without another word and leaves the station, walking out slowly, leaving time so that maybe, just maybe, if she meant something else, she could catch up with him.

His hands shake as he opens the first set of doors leaving the main part of the station and he finds himself stopping. Tears form in the back of his eyes and his throat closes up because the lump in it is just too freaking big and he sits on the bench. He does what he just witnessed from her. He breaks down.

He cries for the fact that he thought that they were actually friends. He cries for the fact that he loves her. He cries for the fact that she doesn't love him. He cries for the fact that she's still in the back room, probably doing her paperwork and so glad that he's finally gone. He cries for the fact that he's never gonna find somebody like her again.

He does this for quite a while before the doors that he had just gone through a few minutes ago open with a loud squeak and he sees someone- Emma- approaching through his peripheral vision. She slides down beside him on the bench and wraps her arms around him cautiously and she knows that she's just ruined it. He knows that she knows that she ruined it.

He doesn't even acknowledge that she's there, he's too busy breaking down. "I didn't mean it like that. I don't want to do this thing that we have because it's too hard to be just your friend. I like being your best friend, and I'd love to stay that way, but can I maybe be your girlfriend, too?" she asks and he stiffens up, the tears not stopping but the sobs ending promptly.

What does she even think she's _doing,_ here? Does she think he's that stupid? He shakes his head and presses his lips together, making a face. "Nah, you're not doing this. No," he says and she looks at him with a look that might've broken his heart a few minutes ago but it doesn't right now. "You can't do this, Emma. You can't just drop a bomb like this and leave it at that. You had plenty of time while I was still in there to add that part on, but you didn't. You're doing this because you're guilty. Get over it," he says and a lead drops in her stomach.

She stands up and literally runs off. He hears the first door close, then the second one, and then the sound of what he guesses is vomiting and he sighs.

He begins to feel bad once again and he stands up, rushing into the back room behind her and walking into the bathroom, where his assumptions have been confirmed. He sighs and kneels down beside her on the tiled bathroom floor, pulling her hair back and rubbing her back.

After about a minute of retching over the toilet bowl, she sighs and leans back, flushing it and standing, washing her face off with a wash cloth. "That was just lovely. Thank you, by the way," she says, obviously a bit irritated but mostly just sad, looking at him through the mirror above the sink.

He can't tell if the 'thank you' was sarcastic or not, but he's assuming that it was both. A fake thank you for making her so anxious and upset that she threw up, and a real thank you for following her. "I'm sorry," he tells her, looking down at the floor. "It was a spur of the moment kinda thing and I regretted saying that the second you ran out," he says and she nods, looking at herself through the mirror.

"I bet you did," she says sarcastically and he looks up at her as she sighs, turning the water off and throwing a wash cloth in the trash bin. "Are you sure?" she asks and he nods, looking her in the eye before stepping forwards and wrapping his arms around her once again, letting her lean against his chest. "Can we go home then? I'm tired," she says and he laughs, nodding and wrapping his arm around her, leading her out of the station with a smile on his face.

This all happened because of one thing. They're strong. They're strong enough that nothing that they say, no matter how stupid, will make them stop loving each other back. Ever. That thought is enough to get them through anything.

 _And when everything you love goes bad_

 _You love them until they love you back._

 _It doesn't matter what we said,_

 _I'll never stop loving you back._


	53. Cave Talks

David talks to where Neal and Emma are sitting on a log, being awkward, and sighs. She looks up at him and tilts her head to the side, rolling her eyes. "We don't have enough blankets we had 5, we left 2 at the last stop on accident. Find the person you are least likely to murder and make sure they're not taken. It'll be a long night," he says and Emma sighs, looking at the ground as he walks away.

"Great," she grumbles, standing up and walking back into Neal's weird cave thing with the cave drawings and random boxes of makeshift silverware. She's eerily aware of someone staring at her and for a few seconds, she had thought Neal followed her until she turns around and finds Hook there, watching her up and down while she looks at the portraits on the walls.

She shrieks as she sees him, the sight of a man wearing all black and completely silent enough to jump-scare the crap out of her and Neal comes rushing in, her father following shortly behind. "It's fine. I'm fine," she says and Hook nods, continuing to stare at her without distraction. "Hook," she says, but that doesn't stop him.

Neal walks over to him and punches his shoulder. "Stop it, freak. Get outta here," he says and Killian nods, walking out because he assumes that it's the right thing to obey someone in their own house. Emma chuckles a bit and goes to sit on Neal's old bed. He grabs up a cup from one of his weird boxes and fills it up with water from the pitcher.

He walks over to Emma and hands it to her, but she denies it. "You haven't had anything to drink today," he objects and she just stares at him until he gives in and puts the water back in the pail before throwing the cup back in the box.

He walks back over slowly and sits up beside her on the ledge, playing around with his hands before deciding how to word what he's gonna ask. "Are you okay? You've been quiet," he asks and she nods, looking down at the ground. "You do know that it's gonna be okay, right? We're gonna find him. Then, we're gonna go home," he says and Emma nods, looking down at the floor.

Her hands are shaking a little bit and he notices this and stands up, grabbing the cup again, filling it up and walking back over. "Seriously. I'll bring your mother into this," he says and she sighs, taking it from him and drinking it, the weird feeling of it moving through her body giving her the chills and he chuckles, looking over at her.

She hands it back to him after a second and he looks at her as he gets up. "Want more?" he asks but she shakes her head. He nods and throws it back in the giant box. She thanks him and he says 'no problem' before getting into their earlier topic. "I mean it, though. We're gonna get home. Together. All of us. Nobody's gonna get left behind and I _know_ that you're worried that Henry isn't the only one who might be," he says and she bites the inside of her cheek lightly.

She sighs and looks at the ground once again, not knowing exactly what to say to that that won't send them into a bought of raging screams. "Well, if somebody was to get left behind, it would be me, wouldn't it? It's what I'm good at," she says and he shakes his head, looking at her and he sits back down beside her.

"No, people are just good at leaving," he tells her and she nods, looking down at the ground. "Oh. God," he whispers, rubbing his hands over his face. "I- that's not what- never mind. That isn't helping, is it? I mean- I won't let them. If anything happens after we find Henry and they wanna go on without you. I won't let them. Even if they do, I'm staying, Emma," he vows and she shakes her head, looking over at the box of cups and bowls.

She then looks over at him and it comes to her how long he spent trying to leave this island and how he's saying he'd be willing to stay with her. "I don't want you to. You spent long enough here, if something happens, you need to leave. I might've only been here for a few days but I can already feel anxiety and all that crap kicking in. You've been here long enough, it's not good for you. Get outta here," she tells him but he shakes his head.

He moves closer to her, watching her eyes and just making sure that she's not freaking out or anything as he takes her hand gently. "I'm not leaving you. Never again. If you don't want me to, I'm not leaving, and I know that you're only saying you want me to leave because you feel bad," he says and she looks over at something behind him instead of at him.

She lets go of his hand and looks out of the cave. He looks down at the ground and chuckles a bit. "He is _so_ annoying," she whispers, seeing Hook sitting and sharpening a sword, Neal shakes his head a little bit, staring out the cave and then looking back at her.

"He's not. He just never had anybody to teach him what's annoying. His father traded him into the service when he was 8," he whispers and she turns to him, tilting her head to the side and her eyes widening. "The service is a ship captain. He had to work to pay his father's debt to the captain. He stole a boat and left them," he tells her and she looks down at the ground.

She then looks back at Killian and that's when she can see it; the look in his eyes. He's not even looking in her direction but she can tell that it's there. "That's so sad," she mumbles and he nods, looking over at him outside the cave. He still doesn't notice that they're looking at him and Emma prefers to keep it that way.

Neal tilts his head to the side as he continues to stare out of the cave at him. "He's the same as us, Em. Just a kid who had to grow up too fast," he whispers and she nods, looking out at Killian and as she gets up and Neal follows her. They walk out of the cave slowly and Regina walks over to Killian, sitting beside him.

Emma goes and starts setting up a station, figuring that eventually, _someone_ will have to come over and ask to stay with her because they have to. Even while nobody else has anything set up, Neal walks over and sits on the log beside her. "They seem to be getting along," he says, looking over at Killian who might have actually been able to make Regina _laugh._ Not chuckling because of stupidity but actually embarrassing laughter because of a bad joke or something like that.

She nods and smiles a bit, continuing to lay out a tarp on the ground that David managed to find so at least they wouldn't be laying on the dirt. "Looks like they're gonna be with each other, and your parents… so, I guess that leaves us," he says and Emma nods, smiling a light smile, putting the blanket over the tarp.

"I guess it does," she says and he smiles, making her smile even more than she already was, which makes his heart really, really happy, knowing that she's actually happy, not sad.


	54. Change of Plans

**I'm here and with good ideas.**

 **This is self explaintory. Enjoy!**

Emma sighs, leaning against her hand on her desk as she tries to focus on her work. The sooner she gets this page done, she can go home. The sooner she gets home, she can start getting ready. The sooner she's ready, the more time she has to fix things that she thought were messed up that really weren't, and then the sooner that Neal comes to pick her up, which she's really excited for, even if she's trying not to be.

She had gone through the day expecting _not_ to be meeting Neal at Granny's that afternoon until Blue died and she realized that she really _did_ want to meet him there. So, she made a run for it off of the steps where Mother Superior died and met him there. He told her that he understood _and_ that if she really meant it that they could do something tomorrow. With that, she had asked him about dinner instead and she watched his face light up and his mouth drop in astonishment.

In both of their opinions, a lunch date wasn't nearly as special as a dinner date and they were about to find out if it was a good idea. She runs home, getting there at around 6:45, which freaks her out just a little bit because fifteen minutes doesn't feel like that much time, when in reality, all she had to do was put on a dress, shoes, and curl her hair really, really quickly (and messily).

So, she rushed finally was able to get everything done. After round three of trying not to actually end up messing something up worse, she heard the doorbell ring downstairs and she almost screamed, completely nervous for what was about to go down.

She leaned away from the mirror and took a deep breath, looking in it once more and telling herself that she looked fine. She put on a smile as she remembers that it is _just_ Neal. He already wants her. That's good. Looking unappealing will do nothing too bad for her then.

She stands up and smiles at the fact that she's wearing a dress with flats, not heels, and she will not trip and fall unless she wants to. The stairs creak as she walks down them and finds that her _father_ is already engaging in the 'dad-speech' with Neal. "Dad!" she cries out as she hears him threaten to use a gun on him and her eyes are wide as she stares at him, stepping off the first step. "Stop," she breathes, looking at him.

It's in that moment when she just _knows_ that Neal is staring at her and she looks over at him, smiling and he's just standing, in some sort of haze. "Wow," she hears him whisper and she smiles even brighter than before. "You- uh, you know what, here. I'm not making comments because I don't wanna die tonight," he whispers, handing her a flower. A daisy, to be exact, and she just thinks about how this could go any better than it already is, because it really, really couldn't unless her father wasn't there and glaring at Neal.

She smiles, tucking a piece of hair back behind her ear as she takes it. "Thank you," she whispers, leaning forwards and kissing him on the cheek. Neal blushes and David visibly tenses.

"Have her back before-" David starts but Emma takes Neal's wrist in her hand and smiles, walking towards the door.

"Bye!" she interrupts in a fake-sweet voice before closing the door behind them. Neal lets out a chuckle and she stops, not beginning to walk yet.

They stand for a minute, just taking each other in and both of them realizing that they have never, not once, seen the other dressed up this much. Ever. "You look nice," Neal says shyly and Emma chuckles, thanking him and they start to walk down the stairs, starting with small talk, which they both suck at.

They walk across the street to Granny's and Neal opens the door, closing it as well and Emma walks over to the same booth that she always takes, Neal following behind her. Granny walks over and takes their orders, both of them finally ordering something besides grilled cheeses and burgers.

It takes a while to get back into the swing of things, but when they do it's great. "Do you remember when that man, the one from the store in that town outside Seattle almost caught us? You screamed like a small child and we fled that place as fast as possible," Neal recalls and Emma nods, laughing. The other few people in the restaurant are looking at them with death glares but they couldn't care less about what they thought.

Time flies and before they know it, Granny's telling them that it's closing time and they leave, Neal walking Emma back home. "It was great. I had fun tonight. Thank you," she says as they get to the door to her apartment and small little fears of Neal's start creeping back up. Are things just gonna go back to being how they were before? Is she gonna start ignoring him again?

"No, thank you," he tells her and she smiles at him, leaning forwards and kissing him.

She leans back a few seconds later and looks him in the eye, smiling a bit. "You wanna come in? My mom made peanut butter cookies earlier," she says and he smiles, nodding. "I really need to get a place," she mumbles as she opens the door, David and Mary Margaret looking over at them from the couch, but neither of them notice.

Neal takes Emma's jacket and she thanks him as he hangs it up on the coat rack. "How was it?" Mary Margaret asks from the couch, announcing her presence, and she effectively scares the crap out of both Emma and Neal.

They both jump and Emma chuckles, looking over at her mother, sitting up with her back straight and a giant smile on her face, and David, leaning back against the cushions, his arms crossed, and his lips pressed into a thin line. "You guys are still up," Emma laughs, closing her eyes and putting her hand over them.

Mary Margaret nods all while David lets out a grunt. Emma looks at the ground and then back up at them. "We're gonna get some cocoa… and cookies. You should go to bed," she says before leading him to the kitchen.

David sighs and sits up, listening to what they're saying. "He better not hurt her," "They look so happy," both of them say at the exact same time and Emma sighs loudly, stopping her conversation with Neal.

"We can hear you guys," she says before her and Neal resume their conversation and Mary Margaret and David go off to bed.

At around 3 o'clock that morning, Snow wakes up to a short whimpering noise coming from the living room. David sits up straight in bed and for a second, her mind goes to the same place where his is, that something is happening that shouldn't be. They both stand up slowly and walk over to the living room, only to find both Neal and Emma spread out across the couch.

Neal's lying down flat on it and Emma's laying on his chest, which was probably her doing. They watch as Neal slowly wakes to the same sound that woke them up and he shakes her awake slowly, whispering her name until she wakes up, lifting her head up off of his chest. "It's okay," he whispers to her and she nods, laying her head back down. "You wanna go upstairs? You should put some pajamas on, that can't be comfortable," he whispers to her and she nods sleepily, standing so he can do the same.

She's still pretty much asleep and he's much more awake than she is, so it's cute to watch as he keeps his arm wrapped around her, keeping her warm and from colliding with anything as they walk up the staircase and to her room.

David looks over at Mary Margaret and with his angry expression, his face changes a little bit and he rolls his eyes. "Okay, so they're kinda cute," he whispers and she nods, leading him back to bed and they go to sleep, knowing finally that their daughter is in good hands.


	55. Luna Puer (The Moon Child)

**I'm back while I can be. I had this idea earlier this week and couldn't write it until now. A little bit of the Emma/Neal friendship thing. What if Neal had come back and Belle was pregnant? Welp, here ya go.**

 **To the Whateva (guest): I'm working on your request. I haven't written anything this week, partially because of school/homework and partially because I'm too lazy. I'm going to be honest, it might take me a long time because I'm still trying to write it without that story in my head (does that make sense?) but I'm working on it.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

She knocked on the door to the Gold's house, smiling as Rumple came to the door. "Hello, Emma. Are you here to see Bae?" he asks and Emma smiles, nodding. Ever since Neal came back, she had been known to show up to help with whatever she could when she was off of work.

Belle was pregnant. She was four months in and Neal had been keeping a sketchbook of all the different ideas he had for the walls of the nursey. There had been hours and hours of debates as to what they would name the child. After finding out that it was a girl, they already had to have had a name figured out.

Gold opened the door for her and she noticed Belle, asleep cuddled up on the couch. "He's in the nursery," he says and Emma nods, walking back to the room where she knew it was after having been in it countless amounts of times.

She goes to the door, an 'L' hanger thing already hanging in the middle of it and she sighs, not knowing what they had chosen for the girl but she just hoped that it wasn't Lacey. She opened it slowly and peeked her head inside, finding Neal sitting in the middle of the room on the floor and going through the notebook. "Hey, stranger," she whispered and he looked up at her, smiling softly as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

She walked over to him, shrugging her jacket off and putting it on the ground, in the only area without a tarp. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked, watching as he flipped through the pages until he found the right one.

"Luna. They chose Luna. I have a page for it, I just couldn't find it," he mumbled and got up. She took the book and followed him to the wall, where he had started drawing a big crescent moon on the wall in pencil. She smiled as she watched him concentrate on the different measurements and perspective. He was fine up until he started erasing, which is when he started making mistakes and getting angrier by the minute.

She sighed as he threw the pencil down on the ground and put his hand over his face. She looked at the different smears on the wall and suddenly got an idea. "No, hey. It's fine, see. You can just go over it lightly with the white later on and it'll look like it's glowing a little. It's not unfixable, it's just a little mistake. Come on," she said but he shook his head, looking down at the ground. "Unless it's not about the painting," she said and walked over to him, putting the pencil down on her way out.

She put her hand on his arm and smiled, looking him in the eye. "C'mon. Let's take a break, go to Granny's, grab a coffee, then we can come back. You should talk about whatever's going on," she said and he nodded, picking her coat up and handing it to her. She pulled it back on and he grabbed his own jacket before they said goodbye to Mr. Gold and walked over to Granny's.

They sat down in their usual spot and Ruby walked over, getting their order before walking back behind the counter to make it. "So, what's up with you? Why are you so upset with this?" she asks and he looks down at the table, putting his hand down and sighing before looking back up at her. They had been over the whole 'leaving situation' a million times before, and each time she told him not to feel bad anymore, which only made him feel worse, for some reason.

Either way, it sucked and he knew that he had to tell her or she would figure it out on her own. "I- just, setting up the nursery for her... it's just making me feel bad. We could've been making these kinds of memories years ago, if I hadn't-" he had begun to speak, but Emma put her hand over his and she smiled sadly at him.

Ruby walked over and she reclaimed her hand for a moment until the waitress walked away. Her other hand wrapped around his other one and she stared into his eyes, a soft look to them as she spoke. "We're making them now. And, soon, we'll be able to try again. It's just a matter of growing closer together... figuring out who we are; together and separately. It's not because I don't trust you, it's completely on me. Just... slow. We gotta go slow. This is the first part," she told him and he nodded, looking down at the coffee that she had pushed over to the side. His hands stayed where she had been as she pulled them away.

He closed them up into fists, trying to get some kind of feeling to them before grabbing the hot coffee and taking a sip of it. The bitterness made him wince and she smiled, knowing that no matter how many times this happened, he would never stop ordering black coffee. She sighed and tilted her head to the side as both of them finished at roughly the same time. She brought her empty mug to her with the counter and handed it to Ruby.

Neal took out his wallet and paid for that, but got an idea before they got to leave the counter. "Actually, can we get, um... two raspberry scones, two of whatever cherry flavored thing you have, and a piece of the lemon bread... please?" he asked and Emma watched Ruby's eyes widen slowly before disappearing into the back of the restaurant to pick up what he had ordered.

He turned to Emma and grinned a little bit, not exactly giving her an explanation, but definitely narrowing down her ideas. "Thank you," he said, taking the bag from Ruby and handing her a twenty before they left the diner. Emma watched him as they walked back home and she just hoped that cherries weren't one of the things that would make Belle sick.

They opened the door quietly, only to find that Belle and Mr. Gold were standing at the kitchen counter and having some conversation over whatever. "Got you something," he said, handing her the raspberry scone. Her expression immediately turned to one of delight and she threw her arms around him, thanking him again and again. Emma and Gold shared a look, one of happiness and contentment before Neal let go eventually and put the bag in the fridge.

They walked back into the room and Neal sighed, throwing his jacket on the ground and Emma's followed, their shoes sitting inside the opened door of the closet. "So, you said that it should be fuzzy?" he asked, picking up his notebook and pencil and handing it to her, letting her jot down quite a few notes in it before they started with the light blue background of the one wall with the moon on it. The rest would have a few random little stars and specks of white.

They painted the room in almost silence, the only sounds being a few frustrated groans when paint dripped, the sliding of the brushes against the wall, the crinkling of the tarp beneath them, and the radio behind them, playing old CD's that Neal had found. Emma interrupted the quiet, the silence being too much to handle for her. "You know, it's cute that you're doing this for her. Your sister, I mean. The moon thing, too. It's adorable, I bet she'll love it," she said and he mumbled a 'thank you' as he filled in a little star.

She turned to face him as she went back to get more paint from the bucket. "And you. You're gonna be a great brother," she tells him and he turns around to face her as well, happy tears beginning to form in his eyes as she looked into them.

"Thanks," he whispered, and she nodded as he walked towards her and slowly reached down. For a minute, she thought he was gonna kiss her and all would be well with the world.

That moment was ruined with a flash in her head of a paintbrush going across her arm and she shrieked, looking him in the eye murderously. "Neal. Cassidy!" she said. He turned around to run off and she took that chance to jump onto his back, smearing her paintbrush across his nose. "Oh my God," she laughed as he put her down and wiped it from his face.

Many, many smears of paint later, they got focused again and finished up on at least the background, of the room.

Emma went home and soon returned with a package of glow-in-the-dark star stickers she had found in her closet, and clean clothes on. "I thought that these might be cute to put on the ceiling. Or on the door," she said and all three of them, Gold, Belle, and Neal all nodded. Henry came by a little while later, just like usual.

"There's a piece of lemon cake in the fridge for you, bud. You wanna help paint the room tomorrow?" Neal asked as Henry walked into the kitchen and took the bag out of the fridge. The boy nodded and took a bite out of the cake before watching Emma jump on Neal's back again. "Hey! What's that for?" Neal asked and Emma shook her head, even though he couldn't see her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands went behind him to keep her from falling. "Fun," she said and he nodded, walking into the kitchen. He sat her up on the counter and he grabbed out a container of strawberries from the fridge. He washed them and they went into the backyard with Henry, all of them sitting on the swing.

Henry looked up at them after a while and smiled, staring at his father. "I also have something for Luna. It's a painting I did in art class. It has a tree with branches making a heart on it. I think she'll like it," he said and Neal nodded, smiling at him. It was the next few months that were more fun as they got to add to the nursery and make it into someplace for Neal's little sister.


	56. A 'Maybe Someday Soon' Kind of Thing

**This was requested by Whatevs (guest). Sorry I didn't get it up sooner, but I hope you enjoy this!**

Neal sits beside Emma at the counter at Granny's and she looks over at him, smiling. "Hey. So, I have a question," he says and she looks at him, worriedly, staring him in the eye and scrunching her nose up. "Wanna come babysit Gideon with me for the weekend? Dad's taking Belle to London for their anniversary," he explains and she pauses, taking her cocoa from Granny.

He looks over at Granny and smiles at her as she walks away. She tilts her head to the side, taking a sip of it. "Depends. Do I have to change any diapers?" she asks and he shakes his head, wrapping his arm around her and chuckling a bit as they start to walk out of Granny's. "Then, sure. What time?" she asks and he reaches into his pocket, taking his phone out and scrolling up to where Belle told him the time.

She looks over at he tilts the phone in her direction so she can see it. She nods and he copies it, sending the time to her so she'll be able to remember it. "So, you should probably be there earlier because I don't know if we'll be able to keep him off of them for long enough to let them go for long enough together, but me trying to by myself?" he sighs and she nods, having seen the little boy literally grip his mother's leg until it left a mark.

She looks down at the sidewalk and looks up at him. "I might not be able to make it too much earlier because I have a thing to do, but-" he interrupts her by stopping and looking at her, tilting his head to the side.

"Work?" he asks but she shakes her head and they keep walking. He wraps his arm back around her, putting his phone back in his pocket.

She looks up at him and smiles. "Haircut. I need one, don't whine," she pleads and he sighs before tilting his head to the side. He stops outside the station and she tilts her head to the side, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you later," she says and he puts his hand back down. He reaches down and kisses her, an actual, real kiss that makes her cheeks turn red.

He smiles as he walks off, knowing that he left her completely flabbergasted. He opens the door to his parent's house as he walks over and opens the door up, walking inside and Gideon runs up and grabs his leg, looking up at him. Belle walks in and starts up and conversation with him. "Bae," Gideon calls, looking up at him and tugging on his jeans. "Bae," Gideon groans, growing impatient. "Bae!" he yells, tugging harder before letting go and falling backwards.

Neal looks down at his brother and picks him up, and Belle watches, completely in shock and worried. "You go pack, Belle. I got it," Neal says, holding the boy and Belle nods, walking back out of the room to go and continue packing. Neal sits on the couch and grabs a washcloth out of the little pile of laundry growing on the couch.

He holds the little boy against him for a minute before having him lean back. He put the cloth on the boys bleeding forehead. "Oh, Gid," he says, holding it there and the boy leans back against his chest. Gideon continues crying long after the bleeding's stopped, like two-year-olds do. "Hey, guess what? Emma's coming over later! Isn't that exciting?" he asks and the boy's cries begin to fade.

"Aunt Emmy?" he asks and Neal nods, whipping out a mint from his pocket and handing it to the little boy. "She gonna stay with us?" he asks and Neal nods, helping the boy unwrap the little candy. Once it's looser he hands it back so that the boy can finish it and feel like he did most of the work.

Neal looks down at Gideon as he pops the candy back in his mouth. "Is that okay?" he asks his little brother and he nods, leaning his forehead against Neal's chest. "I do know one thing, though, kiddo. Your Aunt's not a huge fan of smelly little boys, so how about you go take a shower," he suggests and Gideon nods, jumping off of Neal's lap and grabbing his towel.

Neal helps him in and out of the shower within about ten minutes and Neal dries him off, carrying him out of the room… just as Rumple and Belle stand by the door. "Mama, Papa, where you go?" he asks and Rumple picks him up as he runs over.

Belle stands her suitcase up on it's wheels. "Honey, we already told you. We're going to London for our trip. You have to stay here with Bae," she says and Neal walks over after throwing Gideons dirty towel in the laundry room.

"-And Emma," he says, looking at his little brother.

Belle looks up at her stepson and then back at Gideon. "And your Aunt Emma-" she's interrupted by the door opening and an Emma with considerably shorter hair knocking on the door. Rumple opens the door and Gideon reaches out for her.

Neal smiles at her as she takes Gideon from his father. "Bye!" both Belle and Rumple said as they left upon the distraction of opening the door because they knew that they would never get to leave otherwise.

Gideon watched as they walked out the door and snuggled up against Emma's chest, his head resting on her shoulder. "Hey, buddy. Is it bedtime yet? I thought Granny was making dinosaur chicken nuggets for you, it would be sad if you didn't get them," she says and his head shot up, looking over at Neal.

He just tilted his head to the side and Gideon reached over and grabbed his jacket. Emma smiles and helped him put it on, throwing her backpack that was still over her shoulder down onto the couch over the back of it. With that Neal throws his own jacket on and they walk out the door.

After going to Granny's, getting ice cream, and a child fell asleep on her chest, Emma was finding herself feeling odd. After they laid Gideon down to bed, they found themselves cuddled up on the couch.

She didn't realize what exactly it was that was making her feel so different until Neal said something. "You're great with him; just like Henry," he whispers in the room being solely illuminated by the television.

Emma took in a sharp breath that didn't go unnoticed and she felt herself being pushed up to a sitting position as Neal sat up as well. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asks her quickly, his hand on her thigh and her hand behind him on the couch keeping her upright as she realizes what's making her feel so funny.

She looks down at the coffee table sitting in front of the couch as she speaks. "I want another kid," she mumbles and Neal tilts his head to the side, strengthening his grip on her leg, but not tightening it. "I want another baby," she tells him and his face breaks into a smile.

Her's doesn't.

How can she possibly want another kid after what she felt after finding out her parent's were, too? She would be devastating Henry with that and she absolutely _can't_ do that to him. "Really?" Neal asks happily and she nods, her expression on her face not changing. That's when he notices that something's off. "You don't seem happy about that," he says and she shakes her head.

She looks down at the coffee table and closes her eyes tightly. She then drops yet another bomb on him, this one not one that makes him happy. "I can't do this anymore," she mumbles, this time clearly enough for him to understand her as she stands up, walking over to where she has her clothes laid out to be washed and starts turning them back the right way so she can run into the bathroom and change before going home.

Neal stands and walks over to her, putting his hand on her wrist and seeing the tears in her eyes. "No. You can't do this. You can't just say something like that and leave," he says but she shakes her head, looking down at the ground while he still has his wrist in her hand but loosens his grip on it.

She looks up at him, her breathing beginning to speed up and he knows to tread carefully. "Neal-" she says, beginning to make some excuse but he shakes his head forcefully and sighs.

"No," he says, looking down at her in the eyes. "Please. Don't do this. It's okay. We'll make it work. Don't leave. Henry, I- Gideon… please," he rants and she can tell that he's beginning to freak out just as much as she is for another reason.

She looks over at him and sighs, throwing the shirt in her hand down on the back of the couch. "Just- Come on, Neal! We can't do this. We can't even manage to not lose each other for that long, how are we gonna raise a kid? I can't do this," she whispers and he looks up at her, smiling a little bit as he begins to calm down.

He releases her wrist and moves his hand up to her upper arm. "Em, relax. You're not pregnant… yet. We don't have to- Nothing's decided yet. Let's just, you know, think about it. Talk some more about it, think some more on it, and then when you're actually ready… How about we ask Henry? He's a kid, he'll tell the truth about what he thinks, I think we know that already, though," he says with a chuckle and she lets out a short laugh as well.

He tilts his head to the side and she steps into his arms, nodding a bit before leaning against him, closing her eyes and breathing in. "It'll be okay. Wanting a kid… It's not the end of the world," he says and she laughs, nodding a bit before sighing against his shoulder.

A few days later, Neal accompanied Emma on her way home. They pulled Henry out into the hallway outside the loft. "Kid, we have a question for you…" Emma says, before looking to Neal and waiting for him to ask it, not sure that she's physically capable of doing so.

Neal looked over at her and smiled before turning to his son. "How do you feel about getting a little brother or sister? Your Mom is _not_ pregnant, don't ask, just… we're thinking about it," Neal explains and Henry's eyes light up.

Neal smiles at him as Henry nods excitedly. "Really?! You might have another kid?" he asks and they nod as he wraps his arms around both of them one at a time. "That's awesome. I always wanted a brother or sister," he says, before being called inside by Mary Margaret. Neal wraps his arm around Emma before they follow their son inside, thinking harder and harder about how their future should be.


	57. Rescuing Her

**So… I'm really busy with school and all that and I'm really considering just ending this here, but I'll definitely keep it up if I do end it. This is a little something I like to call, 'because I had homework that was too hard so I'm procrastinating and I guess I'll turn it in on Monday.'**

 **Enjoy it, peoplez.**

She pushes him away. It's like a force she can't control. She doesn't mean to do it, she just always says the wrong thing and ends up hurting his feelings and she _knows_ that she's doing it but she can't stop it.

Then there comes a time when she _needs_ him. She needs him so bad that it's completely pointless to tell him because there's no way that he doesn't know. He shows up at her house because Henry called him over anyone else; probably because it was his father.

She had woken up at around three o'clock that morning and she had been shaking violently. She didn't know why, but it felt like she couldn't breathe, or even think properly. She had sat up and leaned back against the pillows, trying to see if that might help, but it didn't.

It felt like she was underwater, almost. Like she was being held down under it and there was no way to get out. It was horrible. Then came Henry, bouncing into the room like it was mid-day to go down and get a water, but he took one look at her and saw that there was clearly something wrong.

He could probably hear her breathing heavily from where he was, but he didn't say a word to her. He just went downstairs and came back up with a water, and went back to bed. She sighed and tried to distract herself by thinking about work for the next day, but that just made it worse. It was weird. Normally, thinking about work would make her feel better because she was excited, but now it made it worse.

Neal would be able to make it better, she thought. He was always able to do that, between calming her down by pulling her to him and rubbing her back and then cracking a joke or two in the midst of it. Still, he helped, even if the jokes did piss her off from time to time.

It took a couple minutes for anything to happen, but when it did, there was a knock at the door downstairs. She started to get up so she could go answer it, but Henry ran through the rooms downstairs to go get it. Emma sat up anyway and was honestly not feeling well enough to think twice about it.

It was getting worse as she sat, and the longer she did, the more it felt like she was either about to vomit, pass out, or just die in general. Still, she tried to calm herself down and at least not break down sobbing, but the efforts were almost worthless. Tears started building in her eyes and that was when she thought about laying down and just trying to sleep it off.

Her hands shook as she reached over to turn off her lights, but then there was a voice coming from the other side of the room. "Hey," she heard and she jumped, her breathing starting to grow faster already. She saw that it was nobody but Neal standing there, walking towards her and shrugging off his coat before throwing it on the chair beside the bed.

She watched as he did so and then came to sit beside her, his hand going to rest upon hers and her heart wrenching as she saw the concerned look in his eyes. "Are you okay? Henry said that there was something wrong," he said and she shook her head, looking down at the sheets before realizing that it made her dizzy to just do that. "Don't lie to me," he said and she looked up at him, closing her eyes a little bit.

Neal's hand progressively had become tighter around hers as he squeezed it. When she opened her eyes and her breathing sped up a bit more, he could see what it was. "Oh," he mumbled before reaching over and grabbing the glass of water from the table on the bedside table.

He handed it to her and she took slow sips from it before setting it down beside her. He slowly moved over to the spot next to her on the bed and he rubbed her back in circles, pulling her hair off to the side so that he wouldn't pull it on accident. His other hand was going to rest on hers, which was on her thigh, but she stopped him by picking it up.

He looked at her for a second and the thought crossed his mind that she might not need his help, or even want it. He felt a feeling in his stomach before he pulled his hand off of her back and started to pull his other hand away from her leg.

 _No, no, no!_ She hadn't meant to do that. It wasn't something that bothered her, if he was going to take her hand. It actually made her happy. But she was driving him away. She wouldn't be able to stop driving him away. It was what she did better than anything else and it broke her heart.

The thought of even that made her begin to feel just as bad as before. It had gotten better when he came in and started talking to her and trying to make her feel better. Then, she realized what she was doing, once again, when she needed him, and she couldn't fix it at all.

His hand went back to his leg and he began to move away, to do what looked like getting up and maybe even leaving, but she reached across and grabbed his wrist. "Wait," she said, her voice scratchy and he spun around, looking her in the eye. It made him happy that she wanted him to stay, if she even did.

He moved back to his spot beside her on the bed and he began doing the same thing as before, this time holding her hand. She noticed something in the midst of it. Her hand was shaking, sure, more violently than an earthquake, but Neal's, on the other hand, was doing the same.

And he wasn't the one who was in the middle of a panic attack.

That meant that he was worried about her, surely. What else would it be from, especially because that sign mixed with the one of his eyes looking so concerned. He was scared. She smiled slightly, not at the fact that he was nervous, she would never do that, but at the fact that he was worried for _her._

She wasn't sure than anyone before him had ever cared enough about her to be worried for her, especially over something so fixable as a panic attack. Still, he was worried. "I'm okay," she whispered and he looked up at her. Slowly, the circles came to a stop and his hand backed away from her leg and she knew that that had really done it.

She looked back up at him, wanting to say something that could make it all better, but she knew that nothing would. She would just keep on doing this, stopping him on accident and saying the wrong thing.

Her mouth opened slowly and she watched as he slowly backed away, his hand going back towards his coat on the chair and she watched as he stood, picking up the coat and he slowly began to leave the room.

Her heart felt heavy as he began to walk out, his coat on his arm. "I didn't mean it like that," she whispered, but he didn't hear her over the noises coming from the sound machine in her baby brother's room just down the hallway. She was losing him.

And she couldn't stand it.

It took her a minute to gain enough courage to attempt to stand up. She was okay for a minute but then, she took a few steps and began to fall, catching herself by grabbing the bed. "Whoa, you good?" she heard him ask and she felt his hand on her arm. She sighed, nodding a little bit and sitting back on the bed.

She was still shaking and having trouble breathing and all that, but it was starting to feel less prominent as she saw him. "I didn't- um… A second ago, when I said that, I didn't mean that I wanted you to go. I just- your hand was shaking, too, and I thought that maybe you were nervous or something, and I-, yeah. Sorry," she said and he nodded as he helped her back to the edge of the bed.

He chuckled a bit at that afterwards and placed his hand on hers. "It's okay," he told her, looking her dead in the eye and she smiled, putting her other hand over his.

She shivered a little bit. Not on purpose, but for some other odd reason, and he looked at her, slightly alarmed. "It's okay. Not dying, just cold," she explained slowly and he nodded, smiling softly as he wrapped the blanket up higher around her. "Actually, can you come over here?" she asked shyly and he nodded, smiling brightly as he moved up on the bed, turning out the light before laying beside her.

Her head went to his chest and his arm went around her. After a few odd adjustments, they were both comfortable the way they were. "Thank you for coming to me. It seems like you're the only one willing to these days," she said and he smiled, reaching down and kissing her head.

"Anything for you, Em." he told her before they both began to drift off.


	58. Officially Family

**So. I've come to a little bit of a decision. I don't have time to update every day and when I do have extra time, I don't want to just spend it writing because I don't have enough ideas. So, what I'll do, is I'll post what I can write in my free time. I WILL STILL TAKE REQUESTS! Actually, I want more of those pleaseee so submit those when you get a chance.**

 **Enjoy!**

Emma sat down on the chair in the diner and smiled at Neal. "I need your help with something that I'm emotionally incapable of deciding how to do on my own," she stated promptly and he chuckled, putting his book down completely and looking up at her.

He looked at the dartboard behind her and then looking back at her. "Okay, shoot," he allows and she sits up against the back of the chair, putting her hands down flat on the table.

"How do you ask somebody to adopt you?" she asks and he nearly chokes on the coffee that he had taken a sip of. "What? Should I not do that? Do you think they'll say no?" she asks nervously and he shakes his head, swallowing the coffee.

"No, that's fine. I mean, that's great! I'm happy for you." he congratulates and she nods, pushing her hair behind her ear. "So, you wanna know how to ask them?" he asks and she nods, leaning her cheek against her fist.

She smiles for a second before looking him in the eyes. "Just… I don't know what to ask. How do I make that not seem like a… greedy thing or something? I don't know, I just know that there are ways not to do it." She tried to explain that as best she could and the best part, she realizes, about their whole relationship thingy was that he understands anyway.

"Yeah, I get it. I, uh… well- Maybe you should just ask him to? Like sit 'em down and just… ask. You know? I'm sure they'll say yes, Em." he says and she shakes her head, looking down at the table.

She then looks up at him through the tops of her eyes. "But what if they don't?" she asks and he shakes his head, reaching across the table and taking her hand in support.

"Then they're stupid," he tells her and she wipes tears forming in her eyes. She nods, chuckling a little bit and looking at his stupid, goofy, reassuring smile. "You got this. I know you do. Go, knock them outta the park," he tells her and she nods, smiling and squeezing his hand before getting up and leaving.

She comes back a minute later and hugs him, giving him a kiss on the head. "I forgot to say thank you," she says and he chuckles, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Okay. Here's this. I love you… leave." he says, smiling and she chuckles, giving him a kiss on the cheek before running off once again.

* * *

The door to her parent's apartment sticks in the frame and she practically has to ram herself into it in order to get it open. "Ow, crap," she mumbles, stumbling inside and holding her shoulder. She finds her parents sitting on the couch, eyebrows raised. "That wasn't… um-" she stumbles over her words and she walks over to them.

She stands, wringing her hands and trying to think of the proper words to even suggest that she wants to have a conversation with them. "Emma, sweetie? Is something wrong?" Snow asks and she opens her mouth to talk, but words don't really come out as she goes to sit on the coffee table.

"No, nothing's wrong, I just- I had an idea about something… that I-I thought you guys might want to do. That I-I want you to do," she mumbles and they nod, looking at her like she was rambling.

She didn't tell them right away and David turned his head to the side, looking at her. "And what's that?" he asks and she swallows thickly.

She looks in between them as she speaks. "Well, you- never mind. M'kay. Can you please adopt me?" she asks, folding her hands in her lap and sitting up straighter as she watches their reactions.

David's eyes widen as he stares at her, not having any words to say and just sitting, waiting for Mary Margaret to speak. And she's in shock, as well. Emma immediately begins to regret asking and she closes her eyes, waiting for _something_ to happen.

When nothing does after a good amount of time, she nods and closes her eyes once again after having opened them. "Actually, you know what, this was a bad idea," she says, beginning to stand but David reaches out before she can and pulls her down into his arms.

She just sits there for a while, a bit confused as to what's happening for a minute. "Of course, sweetie," he whispers. He's never called her 'sweetie' before, and she would normally fight him on it and say that she wasn't a baby, but she actually likes it.

Then, tears start coming from everybody. Emma throws her arms around her father as well, closing her eyes tightly as she begins letting out little noises. Mary Margaret watches and just sits smiling, tears falling down her cheeks.

Emma takes in a deep breath and hugs her father tighter. "Emma… you okay?" he asks and she doesn't respond for a few seconds.

"I didn't think you'd say yes." she cries, and it makes David and Mary Margaret's hearts break inside their chests.

They share a look before David pulls away from Emma and she wipes the tears from her face, looking up at her parents and feeling incredibly pathetic. "Why not, sweetie?" Snow asks and Emma shrugs, keeping her eyes closed as she speaks because she feels weird looking at them while speaking on such an emotional topic.

"I don't know. I guess I just… Nobody's ever wanted to before. I mean, it's a lot of work, and then there are times when it's more than just legal custody, but it's sometimes taking on new names and editing birth certificates and all that," she says and her father cups her cheek in his hand.

He sighs and tilts his head to the side. "But, it's gonna be a lot of work for you, too, though," he states and she nods, looking at the couch.

"It's worth it though. At least, I think so," she says, shrugging. David nods and she looks over at them, smiling brightly. He gives her a kiss on the cheek and she chuckles a bit at the nervousness she had.

She then sits up straight in realization. "I have to tell Neal," she says, getting up and running to the door to grab her coat. "I gotta go. I'll be home soon!" she says and they both laugh at her excitement.

* * *

Within a few months, many tears were spilled over that situation, but they eventually did it. Emma Swan was legally their child, even if she overall chose to keep her name as Swan, partially because she felt like it should be formally discussed whether or not to take her name as Nolan, and they hadn't offered it to her.

Still, she was more than happy to legally have _parents,_ finally. Then, there was _another_ addition to their little family that was legally binding them to another portion of Henry's biological family tree.

* * *

Henry walks into Granny's, finding his parent's (who are still not together), sitting in their usual booth and chatting up a storm. He takes a deep breath in and walks over to them, sitting beside his mom.

"Hey, buddy! How are ya?" Neal asks and Henry shrugs, running on nervous energy. Granny brings over a hot cocoa like always, but he just stares at it this time, not even touching it. "Okay, so something's up. What is it?" Neal asks and he looks up at him, taking in a deep breath.

Emma looks over at him, turning her body so that she's facing him completely in the booth. She takes his hand in both of hers and he smiles at the silent gesture of support. "Well, I was thinking about it a lot today, and I wanted to ask you something," he says and Emma and Neal both glance at each other in fear as he waits.

Neal blinks and waits for a response, but it's clear he's not getting one unless he actually asks for a continuation. "Okay. Go on," he says and Henry looks at both of his parent's closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly.

Neal had seen this mannerism in Emma before and he recognizes it as one of nervousness; of fear. "Henry, it's gonna be okay. You can tell us," Neal prompts and Henry looks up at him.

"I just don't know what you're gonna say," he says and he nods, looking the boy in the eye.

"Well, I'd assume that you can't predict the future, so probably not. But, whatever it is, we won't be mad at you. Just tell us," he says and Emma nods, squeezing her son's hand, silently implying that she agrees with his father.

He nods and looks at Emma, and then back at his father. "Can you adopt me? Like Grandma and Grandpa adopted Mom? I mean, you don't have to, but it would be nice to maybe get to call you guys my parent's when the nurse asks who my guardian is," he says and his parents both laugh and Emma pulls him into her arms almost immediately.

She kisses the side of his head over and over again. "Of course. Yes, yes, yes." she accepts and Neal chuckles as Henry's face turns red, but he turns to give Emma a hug as well.

Neal smiles once they let go and holds his arms out. "Get over here, buddy. Give me a hug," he tells him and Henry smiles as Neal kisses his head. "Yes, we will adopt you, buddy," he says and surprisingly, Henry gets to watch as both of his parents' eyes begin to tear up.

He sits back down in his spot after Emma gets up and goes to sit next to Neal so that they can give each other a hug, because dang it, they just had their kid ask if they would be his parents already.

They sent Henry off on the school bus later that morning, walking him to the bus stop as if he was a little kid. Then, Emma and Neal went to print off some papers off of the printer at the station and talked to Regina.

As they sat at Granny's sitting across from each other and casually filling out forms, Emma looked up at Neal. "Do you think he thought we'd say no?" she asks nervously and Neal tilts his head to the side as he thinks.

He then looks up at her, and in a very Neal like tone, he tells her exactly what he thinks. "I think that the thought might've crossed his mind once or twice, but I'm sure overall he knew that we wouldn't say no. He knows we love him, Em," Neal tells her, and she nods, smiling a bit as Henry runs in, sitting beside her.

"That I do," he says, pulling his backpack onto his lap. Then, paperwork-filling-out turns into paperwork-filling-out- _and-_ helping-Henry-with-algebra-homework.

* * *

Again, the adoption was a success. This time, unlike Emma, Henry decided that he actually did want to change his last name. There was a little bit of a debate over what he'd be changing it to until it was discussed with Regina.

Then, all three of the adults decided that because Regina _did_ get to actually name him, it would only be fair that he would change it to something other than Mills. That was how Henry decided that he would be a Swan-Cassidy… at least, until his parents finally got married a whole year and a half later, when he changed his last name to just 'Cassidy' at the same time that his mother did the same.


	59. A New Understanding

**This was requested by FionaMo. I am so so so sorry that it took so long. I was sick for quite a while and then when I got better the time I spent after school was with homework and other things and I honestly got a bit distracted.**

 **I hope this was something like what you requested and if not I would be happy to rewrite it for you or do another request that you might have. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this!**

The door closed to Granny's diner and Regina watched as her son ran out to meet her, his father following shortly behind him. "Did you have fun, Henry?" she asks and he nods, lifting up the wooden sword.

"Neal is teaching me to swordfight!" he exclaims and she looks up at him, her eyes wide. "It's okay. He also told me that the swords are only for emergencies. Like if somebody's going to hurt you or somebody else."

Regina nods and looks up at Neal. "Well, at least you're teaching him which occasions to use it. Goodbye," she says, promptly turning around and leading Henry to the car. She opens the door for him, to let him in and he climbs in, sitting with a happy smile on his face.

Neal steps forwards and looks at her for a second until she looks back up at him. "Is there a problem?" she asks, a guarded tone to her voice. "Henry needs to get to his appointment with Archie, I do hope you're not trying to make him late," she explains and he shakes his head, his eyes widening a little bit.

There was still much to discuss with Emma when it came to their son, part of it being whatever this 'Archie' person was doing with Henry. "Oh, no. I'm not. I just wanted to, uh, maybe just talk to you about some things. If that's cool with you, ya know?" he asks and Regina tilts her head to the side.

"No, as a matter a fact it would _not_ be 'cool' with me. Now, if you'd excuse us,-" she says, walking to the other side of the car to get into the driver's seat.

He follows her. And she had thought that nobody on this planet could be more stubborn than Emma Swan, but even _she_ would've given up once Regina said no. "Regina, I'm not trying to be rude, or anything. I just want to talk about Henry," he says and Regina sighs, nodding.

"Fine. Are you busy on Tuesday?" she asks and Neal shakes his head, looking down at the ground.

"Besides telling Emma that I like her? No. I'm not busy on Tuesday," he says and Regina chuckles a bit.

She opens the door before stopping abruptly and looking up at him. "I'm- I'm sorry, was that a House reference?" she asks and he smiles brightly, nodding a bit.

"See, we can get along! I'll see you on Tuesday," he says, walking back inside the diner. Regina goes to sit down in her seat in the car. Henry smiles in the backseat of the car and she looks in the mirror, smiling back at her son before they leave.

* * *

Neal stood on Regina's porch, knocking on the door for a while until she finally came up and opened it. "What are you doing here?" she asks, opening it all the way. Neal tilts his head to the side and squints his eyes.

"It's Tuesday," he says and she opens her mouth, remembering exactly what they said and that they would meet on Tuesday. "So, should I come in, or should we go out to Granny's, or..?" he asks and she nods, opening the door up a little more for him.

She leads him into the kitchen and offers him a cup of coffee before they start talking. "So, I just wanted to say, um… thank you. For raising Henry so well when Emma and I couldn't. It means the world. I mean, he could've ended up anywhere… I'm just glad it was with you," he tells her, but she tilts her head to the side.

"What do you mean?" she asks and he takes a sip of his coffee before continuing to speak.

He puts his fist down on the table and sighs. "Well, you know… Emma didn't ever really find a place where she actually had a family…" he mumbles and Regina shakes her head.

"I did not know that," she says and he nods, his lips pressing into a thin line.

He smiles at her and nods, shaking his head to clear the sad thought from it. "Anyway, thank you, I'll support you through this, taking care of Henry. If you need anything… you know where to find me," he says and she nods, smiling at her. "Do you have any pictures of him? When he was little?" Neal asks and Regina sighs, shaking her head and smiling sadly.

"No, they're all on the computer. I can get some printed for you, though, if you'd like," she suggests and he nods, smiling brightly.

"That would be great. Thank you, Regina," he says. They get up and she leads him to the door.

"Actually, um… would you want to maybe go to lunch this week?" she asks and he smiles at her, nodding a bit. "Not as a… _date_ or anything, just as… you know, for fun?" she asks and he chuckles, nodding.

She looks him in the eye and smiles brightly as he speaks. "I'll have to tell Emma about this, though, just so you know," he says and she nods, putting her hands down.

"I completely understand," she says and he nods, looking down at the ground.

He then realizes what it might have sounded like and begins to try to explain. "No, I mean… like, we're not together, I just don't want to make her feel scared or anything. I kinda told her I'd wait for her to be ready for a relationship and I don't want her to think that I went back on my word because of this," he says and she nods. He opens the door and smiles at her as he leaves.

* * *

Emma goes to drop Henry off at the bus stop every morning. This is one of the few things he realized immediately upon arriving in Storybrooke. "Hey," he says, walking up to her as the bus leaves. "So, I just wanted to let you know that I'm trying to be friends with Regina," he says and she looks at him like he's crazy.

"What?" she asks in disbelief.

"Not like _that_ way, but as in, like just _friends,"_ he tells her and she nods, looks down at the ground, sighing. "I thought I should just tell you," he says and she nods, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Please just be careful, okay? Don't get yourself killed," she says and he laughs, nodding. He kisses her forehead before she turns around to go to work.

* * *

The door to Regina's house swings opens the minute that Neal steps onto her porch. "Hey," he says and she nods, holding the door open for him. She doesn't look like she normally does. She looks different… nicer, maybe? Less dressed up.

She's wearing something that he might see Emma wearing one day. Her hair is pulled back, too, which is something he's never seen happen before. He's not going to comment on it, given that that might be misleading, but he does notice.

She's made sandwiches for lunch. That's different, too. Maybe she _is_ different than he thought she was. She seems like she's always to the books and maybe a little bit more than that, but this is different than that. Now, she seems like she just might not care. He likes that.

"So how are you," she asks and he nods, looking over at her and taking a sip of the water that she had set down in front of him.

He nods, looking around the room. "I'm good," he says and she nods, handing him a plate.

"That's good. How's Emma?" she asks and Neal looks at her, surprised that she would ask that, but he answers her question anyways.

"I think she's good, too. I was actually thinking about maybe bringing her here one day if that would be okay with you. I think it would be good for her to get to know, ya know, _this_ you. Instead of the one that tried to murder her parents," he explains and Regina nods, looking at the ground.

She looks up at him, squinting a bit. "Are you sure she'd want to?" she asks, looking up at him, who begins to look a little bit confused. "I'm just saying she might hate me still," she tells him and takes a very, very long sip of water after that.

Neal opens his mouth and tilts his head to the side. "She might not be thrilled, but I'm sure she'll warm up to you. I did," he says and Regina tilts her head to the side, silently asking him to elaborate. "I mean, I tried to be cordial. It was after you caught onto my joke about Tuesday's that I actually started to realize that there might really, really be more to you than the big, bad evil queen," he stated and she nodded, chuckling a bit.

"I suppose you're right," she says and he laughs.

They eat the rest of that meal laughing at each other and telling old stories. Then, it's time for Neal to leave.

* * *

He walks down the street to Emma's apartment. She answers the door and smiles brightly, welcoming him inside. "What's up?" she asks and he looks over at her as they sit on the couch.

"Will you come with me to Regina's house for lunch on Friday?" he asks and she sighs, leaning back against the couch. "I know you don't want to, but it might be good for you to get to know her better," he tells her, and she sighs, looking across the room at the staircase.

"Why, because you're gonna date her?" she mumbles, and he looks at her with a confused and somewhat disappointed look in his eyes. She then catches that mistake and looks up at him. "That wasn't-" she's cut off by him talking.

He takes her hand and turns so that his whole body is facing her. "Hey. When I said that I was gonna wait for you to be ready, I meant that. I don't want to be with Regina, I personally think that's kinda gross because she's your step-grandmother or whatever," he says and she nods, looking down at her lap.

She folds her hands up in her lap, sighing a little bit and looking over at him. "I know. I just worry, you know?" she asks and he nods, reaching over and wrapping his arms around her. "I don't want you to get yourself killed," she tells him and he nods, kissing her forehead.

"I'll be careful. And I'm not leaving you," he mumbles, holding onto her tightly. She nods, wrapping her arms around him.

* * *

The lunch on Friday came quickly, and Emma finds herself sitting in the front seat of Neal's car in front of Regina's house faster than she hoped.

She takes a deep breath as they walk up to the porch. She knocks on the door before stepping back and sighing. "Hey," Neal says, greeting Regina and the older woman nods as they walk inside the house, the door closing behind them.

She sets a drink in front of both Emma and Neal. Emma looks at him like she might've lost her mind as she takes a sip of water, only proving that it's not poison. She doesn't say that, though. If Regina's trying to be nice, Emma can only return the favor.

Neal sighs loudly before turning and looking at Regina. "What's your deal? Both of you? I don't understand why you hate each other so much," he asks and Emma puts her hand flat down on the table.

"You do realize that she tried to murder me, right?" she asks and Neal sighs, putting his hand over his eyes. "If she had bothered to say sorry, I might've forgiven her. That was until she almost killed me a _second_ time while I was in a portal," she explains and Neal nods.

"I understand this. But, maybe trying to be friends might avoid it happening a third time?" he asks.

Regina turns around from the stove and hands Neal a plate. She picks up a bag of peppers before she drops it back down. "You're allergic to peppers, right?" she asks Emma. She nods and Regina rushes to the sink to wash her hands.

Neal smiles a bit and looks over at Emma. "See, she's not trying to kill you," he tells her and she nods, smiling a bit.

"Maybe she's not. So, Regina," she calls, looking over at her as she continues to make lunch. "What kind of music do you like?" Emma asks and Regina smiles as she turns her head to look at Emma.

"Alternative," she says and Emma tilts her head to the side as she watches the woman fold up a quesadilla and hand it to Emma. "Imagine Dragons, 30 Seconds to Mars… I'll pretty much listen to anything besides Pop. Unless it's The Fray," she says and Emma smiles, nodding.

Neal nudges her arm and smiles. "See, you like the same music. There's gotta be other stuff that you have in common, too," he says and Emma nods as Regina goes to sit beside them.

Regina smiles, looking over at Emma. "Do you know any other languages? Either of you?" she asks and Neal sighs, shaking his head and smiling.

"Not fluently," he says and Regina nods, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"I do," Emma says, smiling a bit because she knows that Neal doesn't know that. "Sign Language. I took it in High School," she says and Neal tilts his head to the side once again, nodding a bit. "How about you?" she asks Regina and she nods.

"Spanish and a tiny bit of French," she says and Emma smiles a bit, nodding.

"That's cool," Emma comments, looking around the room a little bit more.

The rest of the lunch goes by with quite a bit of joking and plenty of conversation, and Emma leaves realizing that she actually made a friend.

* * *

The next few years go by fast. There's a lot happened since she was mad at Regina, including a few emergencies where Regina was the main problem-solver, Neal and Emma finally getting married and adopting a little girl, and Henry finally moving off to go to college and write more stories.

Still, the three of them were able to maintain that friendship. That's how it was supposed to be and even resulted in a friendship between Regina and Mary Margaret. Henry was also overjoyed to have all of his parents getting along.

Their story was still nowhere near complete, but this was a good point to base the rest of their lives upon.


	60. Panicking

So, this is based off of a very, very weird experience I had this week. I'm not sure what it was, but it happened twice in the day, so… I figured, 'why not write about it?'.

Enjoy!

"Come on, come on, come on," Emma mumbles to herself, tears building up behind her eyes and her chest tight as she grips onto the pillow. "It's okay. There's nothing going on. Nobody here. You're safe. Stop this," she continues, trying to soothe herself by just stating what she knows is true.

It doesn't help. Not any more than tossing and turning for the past hour had. Not any more than taking her phone off the charger and looking through her old text messages had. Nothing, not anything was helping.

She knows she's okay. She's laying in her bed. She's inside of a house containing her father, who's just downstairs, and Neal, who is literally right behind her. They're both trained swordsman. Nobody can hurt her here. Yet, she still feels like there's some weird impending doom upon her. Like she's going to die.

Of course, she knows she's going to be okay, because she understands that nothing's happening. Still, she can feel her heart beating like it does when she knows that something bad is taking place right in front of her eyes.

Part of her wonders if it's a panic attack. Her visions all shaky and her hands are literally vibrating against her pillow as she clutches onto it for something. She knows she'll feel bad if she wakes Neal up, especially if he's not able to help her. Nothing has so far.

There's also the fact that her throat is so dry she's not sure she can talk any louder than the soft mumbling she's doing, and she's afraid that if she moves her hands off of the pillow that there's a very real possibility that they will explode.

She's already taken sleeping pills, but they haven't even put a dent in this. She knows that they didn't make it worse, because it was this bad before she had even considered taking something to help her.

She holds onto the pillow as she turns around, looking at Neal's sleeping form. She's shaking as she slowly picks her hand up and puts it on his arm, shaking it lightly, and then a little more violently until she knows that he's awake.

He groans a bit as his eyes open slowly and he looks down at her. She's shaking and sweating a bit, her arms wrapped around a pillow and her eyes absolutely bloodshot. It doesn't even take a second to register in his head that there is something wrong.

He reaches over and turns on his side, putting his hand on her arm as he does so. "Em," he whispers, looking at her scared and wide eyes, staring up at him. "What's going on?" he asks, putting his other hand on her shoulder lightly.

She opens her mouth a bit wider than how it was before, cracked open slightly, but nothing comes out. The noise that she makes is a bit cracky, but it's not actually a word. He frowns, a crease forming on his forehead and his eyes fill with a deeper concern than before.

He turns around and looks at a cup of ice water sitting on the nightstand. He then turns back to her, helping her to sit up before handing the cup to her. Her hands shake hard as she takes it from him, taking a sip from the cup before he takes it back and sets it down once again.

He then slowly helps her lay down again, taking the pillow from her arms and placing it behind her head as she lowers it down against it. He takes a few seconds to try and just assess the situation and figure out what could possibly be going on.

There's something wrong, he can tell just by the way she looks. He wonders for a second if maybe she just had a nightmare, but he soon realizes that something this bad would had to have woken him up.

He reaches down to hold her shaking hand, not knowing what to do to help her. He slowly leans back against the pillows as he thinks, putting his hand over his eyes.

She looks up at him, knowing that he doesn't know what to do. She takes in as deep of a breath as she can at the moment before releasing it just as heavily. Then, she closes her eyes and tries as best she can to move her shaking body over to him. She settles against his chest, resting her hand flat against it.

He picks his hand up and looks down at her, smiling sadly as he puts his hand on the back of her head. He scoots down a little bit in order to be closer to her, and he then pulls her up a little bit.

He kisses her forehead, wrapping his arm around her. "It's okay, Em. It's gonna be okay. Just breathe, okay? You can do that, I know it," he encourages, and she does, taking slow, deep breaths as best she can. "There's nothing here that can hurt you. I won't let it," he promises, placing his hand on the side of her head.

She tries as best she can to do what he's asking, but she's afraid that she might not be able to do it. It feels like there's something weighing upon her, like something's trying to crush her. "Close your eyes and just think about the happy things. You've got this, love. I know you do," he mumbles, nuzzling his nose into her hair and continuing to hold her tight.

Her arm shakes as it goes around him. She's seeing double, everything looking blurry and blended together. "It's safe?" she asks, her voice cracking. She's just wanting to make sure that nothing here is going to hurt her.

He pulls her closer to him and kisses her cheek softly, running his fingers through her hair and down her back. "Yeah, it's safe, babe," he whispers. "Nothing's gonna get you here, I promise," he vows, wrapping both his arms around her and squeezing her tightly before releasing her. "As long as you keep breathing, you're gonna be okay," he whispers, beginning to rub her back again.

She nods, trying to take deep breaths in rhythm with his chest rising and falling. His eyes close softly as he listens to her breathing and reminds himself that she's okay, too. "You're alright, nothing's here to hurt you," he tells her after her breathing speeds up for a second.

She's mostly calmed down by now, just a little bit shaken because of what happened and completely exhausted. She lets out a slow sigh and relaxes against his chest. "'Kay," she mumbles and he smiles down at her, kissing her on the head once more.

He pulls her hair out of her face and moves his head over to look at her. "You feeling better?" he asks and she nods a little bit, closing her eyes and fidgeting around until she's comfortable again. He hums softly and rubs her back. "Good. You sleep good, love. I'll be here when you wake up," he promises and with that he ends conversation for the rest of the night. 


	61. Kate

**I'm so so sorry for not updating often. I can't really think of anything to write, school's been hard, and I've been listening to different music which is normally what I get ideas from but it's not really anything to write about... actually, literally, writing this, I got an idea. So, I gotta go and write that, please follow my FictionPress account that I made last night under my old username (DauntlessGrenade) and I will be back soon hopefully. Enjoy!**

Emma stood by the little crib that the hospital owned, holding her little baby sister. She didn't know anything about her little sister, really. She knew that she was quiet already. She knew that she was wearing a pink little outfit. She knew that she had been under a giant yellow light for the past three hours. She knew that she already had a huge family. She knew that she was going to refuse to be jealous of this little bundle in her arms. She knew that she smelled good.

Emma never understood why newborns, or any babies for that matter, smelled good. It was possible that the hospital used something to make it that way, but it just seemed like nothing should be able to mask a terrible smell, which should be babies. They were just pushed out of another human's body; they should smell like someone's insides, not _good._

But, apparently, where the child came from was not a deciding factor on what it would smell like, despite what Emma thought about the fact. Either way, this child smelled, really, really good. Like powder and lily's put together. This child's scent should be replicated and used for a laundry detergent.

There was something different about this child, though. All babies smelled good, of course, but that was normally one of the few things she liked about them, besides how cute they were. This one, she actually enjoyed spending time around. She was there when she was born; she sat in the room, besides her mother and held her hand, David on the other side. She spent a few hours there after she was brought back from the nursery, but then finally had to go home and rest, take a shower, do the laundry, things like that. She came back after around five hours of being at home. It was too quiet there, with Henry at Regina's and everyone else at the hospital.

She heard the door creak open, but figured it was just the nurse coming in to check on the baby or her mom, or some family member that had yet to meet the new baby. They walked up behind her, putting their hand on her shoulder. "Hey," Neal whispered, not wanting to wake the baby who could very well be sleeping, for all he knew.

She didn't look up at him, just kept looking at the baby, playing with her small fingers as the little girl smiled up at her. "Hey," she whispered, watching her little sister begin to squirm around a little bit as she started to sense another person occupying the room. Emma noticed this, bouncing the girl up and down a few times and shushing her and she was quiet once again.

Neal brushed the baby's cheek with the back of his fingers, staring down at her from next to Emma. "Who's this?" he asked, but Emma noticed more squirming and started moving around a little bit, starting to realize that her little sister was much like herself; she liked movement.

Emma then responded, thinking nothing of what she was saying or how it affected Neal himself; she was just delivering a message, after all. "Your niece," she whispered. The baby cooed right after she said that and Emma smiled. After a few seconds of silence from Neal, she looked up to make sure that he was okay.

She was greeted with a look of pure shock and disbelief. "My parents thought that it would be good. I think you'll get used to it, like you did when Henry started calling you 'dad,'" she told him and he nodded, looking over at her and smiling after the reality of it set it.

He looked at the little girl for a few more minutes and Emma walked a little bit closer to him, looking up at him this time when she spoke instead of keeping her eyes on the little baby in her hands. "You wanna hold her?" she asked, smiling at him.

He stammered a little bit, thinking of what to say to that. You can't just ask someone if you're allowed to hold the child that they're offering to you, but this was different. Emma's parents were very different than she was and while they were trusting, they also knew that they couldn't trust someone who had made mistakes before. "Would your parents be okay with it?" he asked, stepping forwards and playing with the little baby's hand. He still didn't know exactly what to call her, because her name was apparently to be announced at some royal ceremony.

She laughed a little bit, something that was just a little bit more than a chuckled. She looked up at him after taking a glance at the baby. "I think they'll be fine with it, _Uncle_." she whispered, walking towards him. "Hold your arms out," she directed and carefully transported the baby safely from her arms to his. No injuries occurred to either of them or the child during that process, which was honestly a surprise, knowing the two of them.

And, yes, baby Katie did grow up calling him 'Uncle Neal.'


	62. Accidental Happiness

**So, this is my Swanfire take on the Captainswan proposal from last season. I don't remember which episode it was, but I'm pretty sure everybody remembers it, so... Enjoy!**

Emma stands behind her bedroom door, leaning against it and sighing happily. She closes her eyes as she attempts to contain her excitement. She opens up the little black box in her hand slowly, looking at the ring it contains.

"Oh my god!" she squeals, closing it and running over to the bed, collapsing on top of it and smiling happily. She then sits right back up, as if she had barely hit the bed, and tries as hard as she can not to start jumping up and down.

She hadn't meant to find anything. She had just been doing the laundry, something she only does once in a blue moon, and she was putting his socks away when she found it. At the time, she had been worried about if it was actually for her; her insecurities had kicked in.

Now, though, she was more sure about it after having found a little piece of notebook paper underneath it with a little speech. She hadn't read it… or, she hadn't read _all_ of it. She knew he wouldn't have wanted her to.

She knew that he _would,_ in fact, want her to sit in their room, on the bed, and squeal her heart out until she had nothing left of that to give him once he got home. So, that's what she was in the process of doing when the reality of the situation dawned on her.

He was going to _propose._ To ask her to _marry_ him. And then be his family. A family they had both been working so hard to create, to find, their whole lives. He wanted her to be his wife and for him to be her husband.

That thought is enough to make her smile as wide as she possibly can. She looks down at the ring, still sitting safely in the box. He was going to give that to her. She smiles as bright as she can as she slowly takes it out of the box, setting it aside.

She holds the ring in both of her hands, sitting with tears of happiness beginning to glisten in her eyes as she holds it in her right hand, slipping it onto her left ring finger. She chuckles as she sees that it's a perfect fit… she knew it would be.

She sits with it on her finger and her smile begins to fade. What if he'll be mad at her? She didn't mean to find it, she had just been trying to help with something so _basic_ that everybody normally does on their own in their house. She just wanted to do something nice.

Hopefully, that won't be the case. He might be a little bit disappointed, but surely, he wouldn't actually get _angry_ with her for that. It was an honest mistake. Even if it hadn't been, he should've found a better hiding place for something so valuable. She would have to mention that, one day. Not today, though.

She chuckles a bit, taking the ring off and putting it back in her hand. Should she just pretend she hadn't found it? No, she decides. That would be mean. It would be lying to act like she didn't know about something so important, and much more than a white lie.

She looks down at the ground, smiling and holding it in her hand, standing up and placing the box back down on the dresser. She stands there for a second, just before she hears the front door open.

Quickly, she runs out of the room, down the stairs, the ring in her hand. She catches him just as he's taking his coat off and she runs over, standing at his side as he hangs it up. "Hey," he says, awkwardly, looking at her as she watches him, silently, and really close to his face.

She smiles, absolutely beaming, looking him in the eye. "Hi," she says, happily. He looks over at her and tilts his head to the side. He turns to face her and just studies her expression for a minute.

She waits for a second before he starts talking. "So… what'd you do?" he asks, automatically knowing that she's done something that she hasn't told him yet.

She smiles and looks down at the ground as they walk into the living room, sitting down on the couch. He sits facing her and she's facing towards him, the ring tight in her hand. The fear of something or some _one_ taking it crossing her mind.

She looks over at the fireplace once before back at him. "I was doing the laundry, for, like, the first time ever," she starts and he nods as she takes a break. "I might've found something in one of your drawers when I was putting your socks away," she says and he sighs, chuckling a bit, automatically knowing what it was that she found.

She relaxes her shoulders a small amount as she realizes that the worst part has passed. She looks over at him as he stares at the floor. "Are you mad?" she asks, fear evident in her voice.

He looks up at her and moves towards her on the couch, taking her hand in his. "No, no, I'm not," he says, looking her in the eye. "Just a little bit… I don't know- I guess I just wanted to…" he mumbles a bit and she nods, looking at him softly.

She hands it to him, smiling, a bit sadly, and looking at the ground behind him. She feels bad like she ruined it for him. That might be enough to tear her up inside.

He studies her expression for a moment before he puts his hand on her leg. "Hey, it's okay. I- I know you didn't mean to," he tells her but that doesn't alleviate the feeling that she absolutely ruined it. She broke this for him. "Just, uh… Do you want me to-?" he asks, not saying the ending, knowing she'll understand.

She opens her mouth a bit, nearly choking. "Are you serious?" she asks, looking him in the eye. It's not like she _doesn't_ want him to. Still, if he wants to do it like he planned, he should get to do it like he planned.

He nods, smiling softly at her as moves to the space in between her and the coffee table. He kneels on the ground, the ring in his hand. She smiles at him, all of this settling in as she realizes what is happening. "Emma, um… okay- Em- nope. Just a sec," he starts and she chuckles a little bit, waiting for him to think of what to say.

It can't be easy, trying to tell somebody that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. To ask them if they want to do the same. To fear as you think about that what will happen if they say no. "Emma Swan, will you please, please, please marry me?" he asks, biting his lip as he waits for a response from her.

She smiles brightly, possibly bigger than he's ever seen her smile, just before almost tackling him to the floor. She throws herself at him, her arms going around his neck as she smiles, tears finally beginning to fall down her cheeks.

He closes his eyes and he squeezes her extra, extra tightly, still waiting for her to just say _something._ Anything. He just needs an answer. He needs to know if this woman is going to be his wife or not.

As she sits in his arms for a few seconds longer, she realizes that she hasn't responded, and while her throwing herself at him might have been a pretty clear answer for her, it dawns on her that he's still waiting.

She leans back and puts her hand on the side of his face, tears falling down her own as she leans forward and kisses him slowly. She then leans back and he puts his hand on her waist, clearly still waiting for her to answer him, whether or not it seems like she's saying yes.

She chuckles softly and looks him in the eye. "Yes, ya big goof," she accepts and he smiles putting the ring on her finger before pulling her back into his arms, almost violently.

She has her arms around him, her eyes wide as she's a little bit shocked. "Oh, thank god," he mumbles and she smiles, leaning back and kissing him on the cheek. "You're amazing," he says, before kissing her softly.

She smiles back at him. "You're amazing, too. I love you. Can we please go and tell Henry?" she asks and he smiles, nodding, kissing her on the cheek before standing and helping her up.

They make their way upstairs, hand in hand, and they walk into their son's room. He's sitting at his desk, doing what seems to be homework. "Hey, kid. We've got some news for you," Emma says, looking over at Neal.

Henry looks up at her and smiles before looking at his father. "Seeing as Dad looks like he just ran a race of some kind, I'm gonna guess that you're engaged now, right?" he asks and Emma tilts her head to the side, her mouth opening a little bit in shock. "Dad told me a while ago that he was planning on it. What happened to-?" Neal cuts him off, putting his finger in front of his face.

"Uh-uh. That part's still a surprise," he says and Emma smiles, wondering what her boys could possibly _still_ be up to after all of this. "What's not a surprise is that we're going to go either to bed or to eat, depending on whether or not your mom is hungry," he says and Emma shakes her head, implying that she doesn't want to eat.

Henry nods, standing up and giving his dad a hug before turning to his mom. He hugs her super, super tight before looking at both of them. "I love you guys. I'm gonna keep doing this now, I'll see you tomorrow," he says.

"Love you, too," both of his parents say at the same time before they both walk out of the room, over to theirs across the hall. There are quite a few minutes of both of them just shuffling around and getting ready for bed before they lay down.

Emma snuggles up against Neal's chest immediately upon getting under the covers and he wraps his arm around her as she does so, beginning to run his fingers through her hair and down her back.

"I love you," Emma mumbles, looking up at him. He smiles down at her, as well, kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you, too. Get some sleep, okay?" he asks and she nods, cuddling up against his chest a little bit more before relaxing and closing her eyes.


	63. Goodbye (twice)

**Please read the Author's Note at the end, it's important.**

* * *

 _Neal's hands hold the steering wheel in a death grip as he watches the sirens flash behind the car in the distance, in the exact spot that he was supposed to have been meeting his girl ten minutes ago. He can only imagine what this is for her, how badly he's breaking her heart right now._

 _He doesn't even know if he could turn around and take the fall for her if he wanted to if they would just arrest her anyway. He doesn't know and frankly, he doesn't care either. He left. There's no way to earn back the trust he once had with her. He looks back as he watches the police car which is containing his girlfriend pull by._

 _He looks through the back window and she glares at him, tears streaming down her face. He closes his eyes before opening them once again and meeting her's through the layers of glass separating them. 'I'm so sorry,' he mouths and she nods, offering him a short smile through the window as the light turns green and the cop car is speeding in front of him._

 _He breaks down sobbing as he drives, the tears probably making it dangerous to drive as he does so, following the police cruiser until they pull into gates that close behind it. He puts the break on, resting his head against the steering wheel as he looks up at the walls of the city jail and imagines what his girl looks like behind them. "Goodbye," he whispers once he's somewhat calmed down, his voice still breaking as he pulls out of the jail driveway and turns around, driving away._

Neal wakes to his body shaking, sweat soaking through his pajamas and the sheets. Emma sits up, magicking the lights on and looking at him as his body continues to shake under her body. "It's okay," she coos, taking him back into her arms. "It was just a bad dream," she whispers and he nods putting his head back on the pillows.

She moves up to be closer to him on the bed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Wanna talk about it?" she asks but he shakes his head, pulling her into his arms. She nods, leaning forwards and kissing his head before leaning back down and resting her head on his shoulder.

He holds onto her tightly as he tries to fall back asleep. When his attempts to do so fail, he begins to sit up. She moves over so that he doesn't hurt her as he sits up. He rubs his hands over his face and closes his eyes. "I left you," he says, looking her right in the eye. "Why are you with me? How are you not terrified that I'll do it again?" he asks, moving so that his legs are crossed.

She smiles sadly at him and moves closer to him on the bed, sitting on her knees in right in front of him and taking his hands. "I am. I'm giving you a chance because I love you and I want to be with you," she says, wiping away a tear that's made it's way down his cheek. It's then when he starts crying, not just a few tears but many. He tries to move away from her, pulling his hands away and putting them back over his eyes, incapable of handling the pain of what he did to her so long ago.

She follows as he moves closer to the pillows on the bed and takes his wrists in her hands and pulls his hands away from his face. She sees the tears in his eyes for a brief moment before he closes them, his breathing doubling up every few breaths as he continues to cry it all out.

She moves in and pulls him into her arms and holding him there, not expecting him to return the embrace which is a good thing because he doesn't until a few minutes later and then the crying intensifies and that makes Emma get a little bit scared. They're just the same when it comes to being comforted, they both usually calm down when they're in physical contact with someone, so the fact that the opposite effect seems to be occurring is something scary.

She holds onto him tightly, swaying back and forth on the bed. "It's okay. I forgive you. You didn't mean to," she says, leaning back as far as she can without having to pry herself from his hold and kisses his forehead, leaning hers against his afterward. "I'm right here," she says, her arms going around his neck. He nods and pulls her closer before he leans back onto the pillows.

Emma magics the light back off and leans against him, both of them falling asleep in each other's arms after he's had a good cry and she's comforted him as well as she can.

* * *

 **I'm seriously thinking about ending this, not because of anything happening. If you guys could maybe give feedback on that, or send in REQUESTS (which I desperately need) that would be great. It might not actually affect my decision but it could, so... I guess, bye, for the night? I'm gonna sit and stare at a blank Google Docs page now for the next fifteen minutes unless I can come up with something!**

 **P.S, I might actually rewrite the first few chapters of this because they suck, so that might be something happening soon, if you'll want to read those, let me know.**


	64. Running and Rushing

**This was requested by oncer4life11. I hope you enjoy it!**

Ever since every child was little, they've been told not to run. No running in the halls, down the stairs, in the house, in the lobby, or anyplace where there was a risk of running into other people.

Henry, being the child that he is, and having been cooped up in a world where he was forced not to get any of his pent up energy out until gym class, loves to run. It makes one of his top favorite things to do, mostly because being on the cross-country team allowed him to be able to run.

Being on the school's team doesn't stop him from running anywhere he can. He takes after his mother in the fact that he likes to wake up early, and especially to go and run. His morning routine involves stopping by Granny's to get a cocoa, and then running as long as he can before he has to go home and finish preparing for the day.

It takes him maybe five minutes to finish a cocoa at Granny's, and the rest of the morning is spent doing laps around the woods. Nobody can stop him from 'practising' for schoolwork, and he knows this, so he continues to do it, day in and day out.

This day is no different than any other one. His father just happened to be at Granny's at the same time as the thirteen-year-old was stopping in to get his drink. It seemed to be in his best interest to go and sit with his dad for a few minutes while he drinks his cocoa.

So, he walks over to his father's table and sits across from him. "Oh, hey, buddy! Why are you in your track uniform?" he asks and Henry leans against the table, taking a big sip of his cocoa before starting to respond.

"I was gonna go and do some laps before school. I do it every morning. I get up early so I'll still have time to take a shower," he explains and Neal nods, putting his hand on his own mug, filled with sharp-tasting coffee.

He smirks as he picks it up. "That your mom's doing? Showers before school?" he asks, before taking another sip of the coffee.

Henry nods, glancing out the window, swallowing a giant gulp of smoldering hot cocoa. "Emma?" he asks and Neal nods, watching him. "Yep. Something about 'girls don't like boys who smell bad.' Apparently, it makes them not want to sit by us in class," he says and Neal nods, tilting his head to the side.

Henry takes another sip of his cocoa before slapping the mug back down onto the table, having finished the mug. "Okay, I gotta go. I'll be late and I have to do at least three laps before school, my orders," he says, standing up, leaving the mug behind and giving his dad a hug before running out the door to the diner.

Neal let's out a short chuckle as he stands, as well, bringing both the empty mugs to the counter before walking out of the building to go to work.

(PB)

Something about wind flowing through your hair as you're running makes up for the fact that you can't breathe. It takes a while for Henry to start to get used to it, but it does every day. Normally, it only takes him a few minutes to get used to the unstable ground of the forest, but today, it feels like it's taking longer than normal.

He still decides to continue running, figuring that it might help him to do better at his practice meet after school that day.

He knows he should stop. They always say at school that if you're off balance, it can be incredibly dangerous to keep going, but he does it anyway. Normally, he's okay in the decision making department, so he thinks that he'll make the right one this time, too.

The sun gets in his eyes almost immediately as he turns a corner. He keeps his arms in place, but there's something that he's forgetting. Posture. The most important part, he can only assume.

It enters his head just as his shoe gets caught on a log that he attempted to jump, like he had done every morning prior to this one. He doesn't feel anything at all as he's going down, but once he's on the ground, he notices the splitting pain in his leg.

He lets out a sob, scared as confused as he tries to reach over the giant log and unhook his shoelace from a little break off from the log. It comes undone easily, but he still doesn't know what to do.

His leg doesn't look okay in the slightest and he lets out a short grunt, falling back onto his elbows. There are little black patches in his vision and it scares him as he looks around, trying to figure out which way to go.

Normally, he would be fine with figuring out how to get home, or at least back to town, but he's in pain at the moment- massive amounts of it- and he can hardly remember which way he was going in the first place.

He looks around for anything; any signs that a person had been there before. Footprints, fabric, or blood. There's nothing there. He let's out a shaky sigh as he manoeuvres himself so that he'll be leaning against the log that had been the cause of this accident in the first place.

He reaches over and tries to just barely skim his fingers over the skin on his leg, but the second he even lightly touches it, it feels like someone has lit his leg on fire. He almost screams, but it only comes out as a screech.

The pain in his leg is both the least and the most of his problem's. The least being that he needed a way to contact somebody; to let them know that he was out there. The most being that the reason he couldn't contact anybody was because of his leg.

It's going to be okay, he tells himself. He knows that if he's not back by the time school starts, at eight-ten, his mother or father will either send somebody or come looking for him, themselves.

Still, eight-ten is in- he glances at his watch- almost an hour, and he doesn't have any way to call out for anybody other than screaming, but with how far he is into the woods, nobody would hear him, anyway.

He closes his eyes, beginning to break into a nervous sweat. All he wants in this moment is his mama. She would be able to make it better. She would get him to a hospital, and they would fix it and she would get him home as soon as she could.

He can't call his mother, though. He doesn't have a phone, or a loud enough voice to project it to even the very edge of town. Nobody's going to find him until they send out a search group; until somebody knows that he's in trouble. They won't find that out until he's not home on time, which won't happen for another twenty minutes.

(PB)

Neal's standing outside his office at the antique shop, walking towards it, when he gets this desperate feeling in his soul. Like something's about to happen, or that something already _has_ happened.

He tries to think of all the different things that've happened in a strange order in the past two days, because that might help him from having to contact Emma at that station and interrupt her paperwork-doing process.

It sometimes helps to retrace your steps, he knows, so he does just that. His alarm went off, he got up, brushed teeth, got dressed, grabbed phone, Granny's, Henry, work. That was it! Henry; he had been running.

He must've gotten hurt. Maybe that's why he feels so bad. Neal can't just stay here, at work, knowing that his son might be hurt. So, he marches right to his father's office. "Hey, Papa. I gotta go and do something, I might be back, might not," he explains and his father just nods, not paying attention.

Neal's extremely glad in that moment that his father sucks at listening and he turns around, walking out of the building, his phone in his coat's pocket. He takes it out and quickly dial's Emma's phone number.

She doesn't answer the first time, so he tries it again. She does this time, but she's not happy that she's being called. "What?! It's like, 6:00," she mumbles and he shakes his head, rolling his eyes and continuing to walk down the street.

"It's 7:15. Is Henry home yet? I think something's wrong with him," he explains and she sighs, looking up at her clock and she shakes her head, knowing that he can't see her.

She rubs her hand over her eyes. "No, he's not. I'll check the north side, he always goes in the woods. You got the south?" she asks and he nods, sighing. She takes his silence as an affirmation before hanging up.

Neal's quite jittery as he walks down the street, breaking into a run once he hits the edge of the forest. He doesn't care if he misses work, and quite frankly, he doesn't care if Henry misses school after this. He just wants to make sure his son is okay.

He practically runs down the trail, seeing footprints but nothing that proves that it's Henry that had been on the trail. Soon, after making a turn, he sees a log with something propped up on the other side of it.

He climbs over it, and about halfway over the top he realizes that it is, in fact, his child. "Henry!" he exclaims upon seeing the tears falling from the boy's cheeks. It's only a minute later that he notices the colossal bruise on his leg and how it's bent improperly.

He puts his hand on the side of Henry's face and looks him in the eye. "Are you okay?" he asks softly, not wanting to scare him more than he already is and Henry bites his lip, a gesture that Neal noticed early on that he shared with his mother. It means; "I'm not sure, but I'm scared to tell you that."

He nods a little bit and looks down at the boy's leg, inspecting it for a moment before deciding that he needs to call Emma and an ambulance. He reaches down taking the boy's hand and offering him a reassuring smile before proceeding to call Emma.

She answers the first time, this go around, sounding much more awake than before. "Hey, you find him?" she asks and Neal nods, still quite nervous and this time terrified as he attempts to speak actual words.

He closes his eyes tightly before releasing them. "I did. Leg's not looking too great, I wanna call an ambulance," he says and he can hear Emma's hair shuffling against the speaker as she nods. "We're on the path on the Northeast side by the fallen log. I gotta go," he says and she nods once again before he hangs up.

Neal continues to hold Henry's hand as he calls in the emergency call.

It's only a few minutes after he hangs up with the emergency center that Emma arrives. "Hey, kid. You okay?" she asks, getting down on the ground and wrapping her arms around him, being sure to avoid his leg.

He doesn't say anything, so Emma turns to Neal, who scrunches up his nose and eyes as he looks at her. It's at that very moment that the ambulance pulls into the area that they're in and the paramedics come out with a stretcher.

It's not everyday that Emma and Neal would be found holding hands doing anything at all, but if you stick them in the back of an ambulance with their injured child that they aren't allowed to touch, there is no way that they won't be seeking out emotional comfort in each other.

On the ride over to the hospital, Emma keeps her hand on top of Henry's, not wanting to hurt his leg by putting her hand over it in a soothing gesture. Neal continues to keep a hold on her hand, trying to keep her held back from tackling the paramedic that's poking and prodding at their son.

The EMT glares at her a few times as they silently compete for space in the back of the tiny vehicle, but Emma couldn't care less. All she wants is to make sure her son is okay, and if that means that she has to fight a paramedic, she will fight a paramedic.

When they arrive at the hospital, they get Henry out of the ambulance first and tell Neal and Emma to go to the waiting room. Emma speeds off, trying to follow them into whichever room they're taking her son, but Neal reaches forwards almost immediately when he sees that she's trying to be stealthy and pulls her back by her arm.

She turns around and without even looking at him leans against his chest. His arms go around her, trying to comfort her and protect her from whatever might be enough to scare the crap out of her in there.

After a few minutes of just standing and holding each other, Emma let's go and they walk over to the waiting room, sitting down in the chairs and continuing to hold hands. Maybe it was just comforting to know that part of their son was sitting beside them at the moment, or maybe it was something else, but there was a feeling of comfort being caused by something.

There aren't very many words being said between the two, but every few minutes Neal sees Emma's eyes go to some machine that's going off, or in the direction of a beeping noise coming from the room down the hall. Each time, he squeezes her hand, hoping that it's more comforting than creepy.

After quite a few minutes of just sitting and waiting, a nurse comes out and calls their names before walking over to them. They both sit up higher in their chairs, waiting for the news on their son. "So, we've given him morphine for the pain. He has a fractured fibula. We want to put him in a removeable cast, but he won't be allowed to take it off except to shower," she explains and Emma and Neal both nod.

She waves at them to follow her and they do, all the way back to a room down the hallway. He's asleep when they get there, but they'd rather he be asleep than in pain. "He'll wake up shortly, hopefully. He might go in and out of it, only waking up for minutes at a time, that's normal. Call me if you need anything," she says. Emma looks to Neal, a little bit confused, but he just shrugs, proving that he is, as well.

They sit beside each other on one side of the bed in the little plastic chairs that every hospital or waiting room is famous for. They lean against each other, sitting up a little bit straighter, then relaxing each time that his heart rate increases and decreases.

It's almost as if a miracle has been completed when he starts stirring around in the been before finally waking up. Emma grabs his hand and before he can even open his eyes, he mumbles, "Mama?"

Emma nods, smiling a little bit with tears in her eyes as she looks down at him. "Hey, kid," she mumbles, brushing his hair back off of his forehead.

His eyes open for a second, weakly, before opening up once more. Neal stands, walking to Emma's other side so that Henry'll know that he's there. Henry reaches over and grabs his father's hand, holding onto it loosely. "Don't go 'nywhere, m'kay?" he asks and both of his parent's nod.

Neal squeezes his son's hand softly. "We wouldn't dream of it, buddy. You rest some more, we'll be here when you wake up," he promises and Henry smiles at him before closing his eyes and complying.

Emma then grabs Neal's hand back and they continue to lean on each other for support throughout the day and night while they watch their son sleep most of the pain away.

 **So, I realized what I was trying to say yesterday. I'm trying to take some time away, I guess. I'm working on reinventing myself and I need some time to do that, but not forever. Just, I can't be writing all the time.**

 **I'll try to update as often as possible. I hope this story was something like what you wanted, and if not, as always, I would be happy to rewrite it.**


	65. Nightmares

Her hands almost always shake whenever she gets nervous. Not that this random fact matters much, besides her having dropped her phone three times already. At this point, she wasn't sure it could take another hit. She clutched her right hand in her left, trying to contain the vibrating.

She leaned back against the yellow wall, closing her eyes tightly and looking back down at the watch that Neal had given her before leaving. It was 8:45. That was good, because it meant that he still had fifteen more minutes until he was supposed to be back.

Emma smiled at the thought of seeing him again. She loved him so much to the point where it might even hurt a little bit. It was probably also past the point of being an obsession, but that part was because she didn't have anything else to freak out about.

It was almost as if sometimes all she had to do was talk to him. Like right now. All she wanted was to know when he would be back- _if he was, in fact, coming back._

That worry had been on her mind all night, as well. As a matter of a fact, it was probably the question that was fueling this major anxiety she was experiencing over this. It wasn't worth it, really. He would either be coming back, or he wouldn't. It wasn't worth it to freak out about.

There comes a point in time, about five minutes later, when she pushes off of the wall behind her and walks around, stepping on every little crack in the street that she can see well enough. She was bored out of her mind and anxious to the point where she was feeling physical pain.

She walked over to the edge of the gate of the little semi-enclosed space that Neal had told her to meet him at. She wondered for a moment whether or not the car would still be there. If he was still in town, it probably was, knowing him.

She smiled a bit as she pushed herself back off of the chained-gate and walked down the street to where they had parked. She took in a deep breath as she walked. It was one thing to be worried about whether or not Neal was okay, and then a completely different one to be worried about whether or not he would be coming back to her.

She walked down the street as she sighed, knowing that this was absolutely ridiculous. If he wanted to come back to her, he would. She didn't need to check to make sure that the car was still there. She closed her eyes lightly as she turned the corner, knowing that from where she was standing, she would be able to see the car if it was still there.

She opened her eyes slowly, starting to smile a little bit before she could even look at the car- or where the car was _supposed_ to be. She picked her head up, her eyebrows scrunching up and walking down the street, looking to make sure that she wasn't mistaken.

Once she had looked down the entire sidewalk, she had come to the conclusion that he just had chosen not to come. She let out a sigh and nodded to herself once or twice, placing her phone back in her pocket. She walked down the street as she waited for something to happen.

There wasn't really anything to hope for. Of course, there was the idea that he might've not left and this was a misunderstanding; that she had found the wrong place. Then, there was also the one that if he _had_ left, he didn't call the cops and neither did anyone else.

The last thing she needed at the moment was to be stuck in a prison. She let out a sigh and put her hand over her eyes. "This is unbelieveable," she mumbled, walking down the road. She wiped off whatever was coming from her eyes and decided that it would be best if she didn't freak out right then and just stayed calm.

She looked down at the street as she began to feel that feeling in her stomach. The one that happens when somebody gets so upset or sad to the point where they feel like they might throw up. She shook her head, going to sit on a bench for a good three minutes until her phone started vibrating in her hand.

She looked down at it, glad that Neal might be calling, but it definitely was not Neal's phone number displayed on her screen. She groaned, leaning back for a minute before standing up and walking off, far away from the bench and anywhere near the car was supposed to be.

It's not even something that should be making her this upset. She knew that he wouldn't be coming back the entire time. She had even repeated it multiple times throughout the day, even before they had really talked about what they would be doing about it. It was like it was permanently installed into her brain, and she still was upset about it.

She shook her head when she thought about the point she had dropped to within the past, what, five minutes now? This isn't something that should be affecting her other than the fact that she never actually knew someone that she thought she had.

She finds herself walking back to the gates. She doesn't wonder why she ended up back here, but she does wonder what she was expecting to be different when she did. She looked into the gates, to the far left where any police car that was there would be.

After a minute of hearing no sirens and seeing no flashing lights, she walked back into the little gated area.

She turned to look at the other side of the little block, checking to make sure that there wasn't anyone hiding there. But what was waiting for her there wasn't a cop or a police officer.

It was her boyfriend, who was sitting on the curb, his eyes closed and he was obviously at the same level of not-calm as she was.

She looked over at him, smiling and going to sit next to him on the curb, waiting to see how long it would take for him to realize that somebody was there, or rather, that she was there. After a minute, he opened his eyes and rested his chin on his hand, looking at the gate before noticing something beside him and looking over at her.

He practically gasped her name, not dramatically, for the first time ever. She smiled at him and he pulled her into his arms, holding her as close as possible. "Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded, leaning back and getting to the point where she needed to address this situation.

She looked at him in the eye, completely pissed off, and sighed. "Where were you?" she asked and he tilted his head to the side, letting out a short breath and closing his eyes. "Yeah, do that. It's probably much easier than thinking of what I could've possibly been thinking happened here," she all but yells at him, staring him in the face until he says something.

He looks her in the eye and starts to say something, but she cuts him off. "You know what? I don't wanna hear it," she says, standing up and starting to walk away. There's a sheer moment of panic in which Neal stands up and walks over to her, putting his hand on her arm.

He turned her around and there were tears falling down her cheeks. He closed his eyes tightly and pulled her back into his arms.

She struggled against him for a good minute before just relaxing and practically falling and starting to sob. He holds her up, giving her a kiss on the temple. "It was cold. I thought I'd come around to get you instead of having to walk back but when I got here, you were gone," he explained, mumbling and holding the back of her head.

She closed her eyes and leaned back, biting her lip a little bit. "You should've just waited," she whispered and he nodded, kissing her forehead. "I would've been fine," she whispered and he nodded again, brushing the loose hair from her face.

He sighed, looking her in the eyes and then at her wrist, rubbing his thumb over the flower on it. "I know. I'm sorry, I was just trying to do something... nice for you," he mumbled and she nodded, looking down at the ground.

She doesn't let him know whether or not she's still mad at him, though. "Can we please go now?" she asked and he nodded, leading her back to the car. They hopped into their seats and he turned the heat up as high as he could.

* * *

That night, for the first time since Emma's birthday, they were able to get a hotel room and actually pay for it. It was nice to be able to sleep in a bed that they didn't have to worry about collapsing beneath them for the first time in a while.

They had both taken showers and were actually asleep when the bed started shaking and it woke Neal up. It didn't cause Emma to get up, so he looked over at her and tilted his head to the side. It was then when he realized that _she_ was the reason that the bed was shaking.

He scrambled to sit up and reached over, shaking her gently and progressively more violently until she woke up. His hand went to hers as she sat up, shaking, and she threw herself at him, her arms going around his neck.

He held onto her, his hand on the back of her head and the other one keeping her close to him. "Oh, it's okay," he whispers to her, closing his eyes and keeping a firm hold around her as she just sobs and sobs. "Baby, it's okay. It's okay. I'm right here," he tells her, holding her as close as he can to him.

He rubs his hand up and down her back, whispering little things to her that he hopes will help her to calm down but it doesn't do much after a few minutes. "Here," he whispers, repositioning them a little bit so that they're more comfortable.

About fifteen minutes pass and she's still just sitting in his arms, shaking with sobs and he doesn't know how to help her at that point. "Just hold onto me, okay? I gotcha," he whispers by her ear before brushing her hair back behind it gently, careful not to let go of her for a single second and let her think that he's going anywhere.

She nods, still holding on like she's stuck to him. His hand reaches up once more and goes to the back of her neck before he slowly gets less tense in his hold. He leans back a little bit which causes her to get more stiff and strong when it comes to how she's holding onto him. "No, no, love, it's okay," he assures and she slowly releases the tension in her hold.

She ends up leaning back a bit, as well, but she's still holding onto him, as he is with her. "Hey," he whispers, putting his hand on her arm, wanting to get her attention, but she looks away. "Look at me, Em," he whispers, rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

She looks up at he smiles, wiping away one of the tears still lingering on her face. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna be here for forever, okay? You don't have to worry about that," he says, looking her in the eye. "Even if you don't want me to be. I'll always be here for you, you can't change that," he whispers, moving forwards and kissing her on the cheek.

He moves his hand so that it rests on her cheek and she nods, smiling tearfully. "I love you," she whispers, giving him another hug and he smiles, kissing her on the cheek once more.

"I love you, too. Is it time for bed yet?" he asks and she nods. She lays back down on the bed and he makes sure that the blankets are completely wrapped around her before he lays back down, as well, pulling his portion of the covers over himself. She smiles, moving over and cuddling into his side, unlike she was before.

She looks up at him as he brushes his fingers through her hair, rubbing them down her back. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you earlier. I don't _actually_ want to leave- or for _you_ to leave," she whispers and he nods, reaching down at taking her hand, pulling it up to his lips and kissing it before moving it down to rest under his over his chest.

He looks down at her as she snuggles back up into his chest, his arm wrapping even tighter around her. "I know, babe. I know," he whispers, closing his eyes after watching her smile contentedly at him, just before they both end up falling asleep once again.


	66. Caring

**So, a few things...**

 **-I can't remember if I've posted the first one before... oops.**

 **-There are two of these on here. I can't think of anything to write but I figured a two-in-one is the next best thing.**

 **-Guyyysss I need more ideas! I don't care how many you PM me or comment, just send me literally as many as you can think of no matter how short you think it is or how dumb you think it might be because chances are, it isn't.**

 **-As always, enjoy!**

Neal's _hands hold the steering wheel in a death grip as he watches the sirens flash behind the car in the distance, in the exact spot that he was supposed to have been meeting his girl ten minutes ago. He can only imagine what this is for her, how badly he's breaking her heart right now._

 _He doesn't even know if he could turn around and take the fall for her if he wanted to if they would just arrest her anyway. He doesn't know and frankly, he doesn't care either. He left. There's no way to earn back the trust he once had with her. He looks back as he watches the police car which is containing his girlfriend pull by._

 _He looks through the back window and she glares at him, tears streaming down her face. He closes his eyes before opening them once again and meeting her's through the layers of glass separating them. 'I'm so sorry,' he mouths and she nods, offering him a short smile through the window as the light turns green and the cop car is speeding in front of him._

 _He breaks down sobbing as he drives, the tears probably making it dangerous to drive as he does so, following the police cruiser until they pull into gates that close behind it. He puts the break on, resting his head against the steering wheel as he looks up at the walls of the city jail and imagines what his girl looks like behind them. "Goodbye," he whispers once he's somewhat calmed down, his voice still breaking as he pulls out of the jail driveway and turns around, driving away._

Neal wakes to his body shaking, sweat soaking through his pajamas and the sheets. Emma sits up, magicking the lights on and looking at him as his body continues to shake under her body. "It's okay," she coos, taking him back into her arms. "It was just a bad dream," she whispers and he nods putting his head back on the pillows.

She moves up to be closer to him on the bed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Wanna talk about it?" she asks but he shakes his head, pulling her into his arms. She nods, leaning forwards and kissing his head before leaning back down and resting her head on his shoulder.

He holds onto her tightly as he tries to fall back asleep. When his attempts to do so fail, he begins to sit up. She moves over so that he doesn't hurt her as he sits up. He rubs his hands over his face and closes his eyes. "I left you," he says, looking her right in the eye. "Why are you with me? How are you not terrified that I'll do it again?" he asks, moving so that his legs are crossed.

She smiles sadly at him and moves closer to him on the bed, sitting on her knees in right in front of him and taking his hands. "I am. I'm giving you a chance because I love you and I want to be with you," she says, wiping away a tear that's made it's way down his cheek. It's then when he starts crying, not just a few tears but many. He tries to move away from her, pulling his hands away and putting them back over his eyes, incapable of handling the pain of what he did to her so long ago.

She follows as he moves closer to the pillows on the bed and takes his wrists in her hands and pulls his hands away from his face. She sees the tears in his eyes for a brief moment before he closes them, his breathing doubling up every few breaths as he continues to cry it all out.

She moves in and pulls him into her arms and holding him there, not expecting him to return the embrace which is a good thing because he doesn't until a few minutes later and then the crying intensifies and that makes Emma get a little bit scared. They're just the same when it comes to being comforted, they both usually calm down when they're in physical contact with someone, so the fact that the opposite effect seems to be occurring is something scary.

She holds onto him tightly, swaying back and forth on the bed. "It's okay. I forgive you. You didn't mean to," she says, leaning back as far as she can without having to pry herself from his hold and kisses his forehead, leaning hers against his afterward. "I'm right here," she says, her arms going around his neck. He nods and pulls her closer before he leans back onto the pillows.

Emma magics the light back off and leans against him, both of them falling asleep in each other's arms after he's had a good cry and she's comforted him as well as she can.

* * *

Emma wakes with a start, immediately clutching onto the blankets around her. She blinks hard, looking at the space in front of her, then thinking about what might be behind her. _Please, let him be there._ She takes in a deep breath, releasing the covers from her hands.

She turns around, lookings behind her to see if Neal's still there. She takes in a sharp breath as she sees that the space beside her on the bed is empty. She bites her lip hard in order to keep herself from calling out for him.

It's still dark outside; somewhere between midnight and sunrise. Probably one of those hours in the morning when it's absolutely ridiculous to be awake. All the more reason to question where Neal could have possibly gone when Granny's closed five hours ago.

The room seems eerily quiet as she stands up, looking around before beginning to walk out of her bedroom. "Emma?" she hears from the room that she had literally just left and she jumps, turning around and looking at him. "Where you goin'?" he asks and she looks down at the ground, sighing.

She walks back into the room and he takes her hand, leading her back over to the bed where they both take their places. "I didn't know where you went. I had to go and find you," she says and he smiles, chuckling a bit as he puts his hand over hers. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she whispers and he nods, reaching over and kissing her forehead.

"I know you did. You go to sleep now, okay? I'll see you in the morning," he vows and she smiles, kissing him on the cheek before settling into a spot somewhere between where she was before and in his arms.


	67. Superheroes Get Hurt, Too

**Just when I thought I had no idea's, this happens. I don't even know how I came up with this, but I did. Please still send in requests, I need to be able to write something more often, even if I can't come up with my own ideas. Also, if you're currently a guest, please make an account. I like to be able to DM people that leave requests and if I can't, I might write it wrong. Anyways, Enjoy!**

Henry knocks on the door to his grandparents' apartment, his dad standing right behind him as they wait for somebody to come and let them in. Neal looks over at Henry and smiles, ruffling up his hair while they stand still.

There are footsteps on the other side of the door just before the door swings open to reveal Snow standing there, surprised to find her grandson and his father standing outside and waiting for them. Neal smiles at her and Henry runs in, not explaining why he was in such a hurry.

Neal scratches the back of his neck as he watches his son bolt into the apartment and up the staircase. "He, uh, forgot his toothbrush and he needs some extra socks," he explains quietly and Snow nods, smiling and opening the door wider.

Neal walks in and stands in front of the door, still waiting for Henry in an awkward silence while Snow stands beside him. Henry looks over the railing over at Snow. "Where's Mom? She cleaned the bathroom," he asks and Snow looks up at him and back to David, who sets his food down and goes to help his grandson find whatever he's there for.

It's then when Neal knows that he can ask Snow a question that he's been waiting to ask her for a while and didn't feel comfortable asking in front of her husband. "So, uh, how's Emma?" he asks and Snow smiles, walking over to the couch and he follows her, assuming that's what he's supposed to do.

Snow puts her hand on her leg and picks up a mug of hot cocoa that she had been drinking before Neal and Henry had arrived. "I think she's okay," she says and Neal nods, looking over at the staircase as she waits for her to continue speaking. "She misses you," she blurts out and Neal looks over at her and it's obvious that she wasn't supposed to mention it to him.

She claps her hand over her mouth and David looks over the banister, having heard the whole thing. "Do you even know what a secret is?" he asks and Snow's cheeks turn red as she looks down at the coffee table in front of her. She sets her cocoa down on it and she smiles at Neal.

She shakes her head at Neal, putting her face in her hands. "She totally told me not to say anything, too. I am so, so sorry," she states and he nods, putting his hand on his leg. "I just- she doesn't ever stop talking about you! She misses you like crazy, Neal," she explains and he looks down at the ground, nodding.

He chuckles as he looks up at the railing to make sure David isn't still spying on them before he starts talking again. "I miss her, too. I didn't think she wanted to talk to me, after everything that happened in the woods a few weeks ago," he mumbles and she shakes her head, looking over at him and beginning to play with the sleeve of her sweater.

She looks up at him before she begins talking, too. "She thought you wouldn't want to talk to her anymore. She knows how you feel about the whole magic thing, she thought you might hate her for using it on you, I think," she explains and he shakes his head, letting out a sad chuckle.

He closes his eyes, rubbing his hand over his face before looking up at her and taking it off. "I never hated her. Sure, I was a little bit upset about it for a good fifteen minutes, but I never _hated_ her," he explains and she moves closer to him, putting her hand over his. "What did I do?" he mumbles to himself and as Snow closes her eyes, Neal rubs his own.

Snow looks at him when he picks his head up and his eyes are a little bit redder than they were before. "How do I fix it?" he asks, looking at Emma's mother with desperation.

She tilts her head to the side and squeezes his hand. "You need to talk to her," she states and Neal nods, standing up and getting ready to go and find her daughter when Snow keeps a hold on his hand. "Not right now. Henry's upstairs," she reminds him and he sighs, sitting right back down.

* * *

It's about two days later, while Neal is bringing Henry by to get his clothes, that he gets to see Emma at a time when she can talk. "Hey," he greets as Henry runs inside going to get some more clothes and some other stuff that he needed.

Emma smiles as she opens the door, inviting him inside. "Hey," she responds, watching as their son goes flying up the staircase. "What's he doin'?" she asks and Neal chuckles, seeing Henry speed by the railing and into his bedroom.

Neal puts his hands in his pockets as he speaks. "He needs warmer clothes," he explains and Emma nods, blowing some air into her cheek as she walks over into the kitchen, Neal sitting at the counter as she pours some coffee.

He takes a second to think about how to phrase what he needs to before he starts talking. "So, I talked to your mom a few days ago," he starts and Emma sighs, closing her eyes as she looks at him, waiting for some bad thing to be said. "She told me about the thing that you told her not to tell me about," he says and she groans, putting her hand over her eyes and starting to laugh quietly.

He waits for her to look up at him once again before continuing to speak. "I don't hate you. I miss you," he tells her and she bites the inside of her cheek, which doesn't go unnoticed by Neal. "Stop, you'll make yourself start bleeding," he interrupts himself by saying before continuing. "I could never hate you, Emma. I might get mad at you from time to time, but I don't _hate_ you," he tells her and she nods, looking down at the ground to keep tears from falling.

He notices that, too, and he gets off of the chair that he's in, going around the counter and walking over to her. He wraps her up in his arms kissing the side of her head, rubbing her back up and down and before she has a chance to actually start crying, she's too happy to be able to.

They're both so caught up in the fact that they're holding onto each other for dear life to realize that Henry came running down the staircase. In fact, they only realize that he's not in his room when he joins the hug, smacking into their sides.

They both start laughing and wrap one of their arms around him, letting him join their little family hug. They stand there for a while, their arms around each other and just taking in the fact that they're all actually together at the same time.

It breaks a few minutes later when Henry gets an idea and leans back, causing his parents to drop their arms from around him. He looks to his father, smiling super, super brightly. "Dad, Mom should come with us! She likes superheroes, too, I bet, and she can stay with us tonight!" he exclaims, surprising Emma with his idea.

Neal smiles at him before looking back to Emma, chuckling a little bit before looking her in the eyes. She just stands there and stares at him, not smiling or frowning at Henry's idea but simply waiting to be told whether or not she was welcome.

Neal could tell that she was doing this but he also knew that if he didn't _tell_ her to come, she would think that 'if you want to' meant 'if you _have_ to', so he came up with a better way to ask her. "So, you like superheroes, Em?" he asks and a small smile appears as she nods.

He nods, looking between her and Henry. "Well, I say you guys get ready, then. It starts in an hour," he explains and Henry nods, grabbing Emma's hand and nearly dragging her over to the staircase and up the first few steps.

Neal watches for a good few seconds before stopping him. "Hey, Henry," he calls and his son comes to a halt, his mother stopping behind him as both of them look over at Neal. "Be gentle with your mom. Just because she's a hero doesn't mean that she doesn't get hurt," he tells him, smiling a little bit.

Emma looks back at him and smiles gratefully as Henry nods. He waits for her to come up the first few steps of the staircase before they walk all the way up the stairs hand in hand, both of them making sure that neither of them fell.


	68. Super-Mama

**This was requested by oncer4life11. I realized that there are quite a few different requests (two or three) in the comments so I'll try to get started on those soon. Enjoy!**

Neal walks up the the porch of Henry's school, taking in a deep breath before opening the door and walking inside. He looks around for the numbers above the doors, like Emma said there would be, only to find that the number '3' isn't in that hallway.

He walks down the hall and to the left until he comes across a room, right through the office. The lady sitting at the desk in the small room smiles at him and he does the same before walking through it and into the room, just like he's supposed to.

He looks around the room a little bit until his eyes land on his little boy, who's sitting at his desk and coloring a picture, his backpack and lunch beside him and ready to go. He walks up behind him, kneeling down to his level. "Hey, buddy," he greets and Henry turns around super quickly, wrapping his arms around his dad's neck.

Neal smiles against Henry's neck, looking at his picture for a second. "For Mama's desk," he says and Neal nods, looking Henry in the eyes and smiling brightly at him. "Do you think she'll like it?" he asks and Neal nods, putting his hand on Henry's back.

Henry looks at him until he says something just a few minutes later. "She'll love it, kiddo. Do you know where your teacher is?" he asks and Henry nods, standing up. Neal grabs his paper, putting it into his backpack before following him across the room.

Neal takes his hand and smiles as he walks up behind him. "Ms. Leah?" Henry asks, looking up at his teacher. She looks over at him and smiles before looking up at Neal. "This is my Papa," he tells her and she smiles, nodding and reaching to shake his hand.

The teacher smiles at him as she does so, making eye contact. "Leah Smith," she introduces and let's go of Neal's hand.

"Neal Cassidy," he says and she nods, looking down at Henry. "I'm supposed to pick him up today, my wife's at work," he explains and she nods in understanding, not saying anything. "She said I had to check in with you before taking him," again, the teacher nods.

Neal sighs, nodding once more at her before taking Henry's hand and leading him outside the back door and to his red pickup truck. Henry stops in front of the car and Neal looks down at him. "Papa, I don't think this is your car," he says, looking up at his dad and Neal chuckles, putting his hand on Henry's shoulder.

He squeezes it gently while Henry stares at the car in confusion. "It is, buddy. I got new colored license plates, that's what's different," he explain and Henry takes in a breath of realization, looking over the plates in awe. "None of your mama's friends can pull me over anymore, now," he mumbles and Henry giggles, clearly understanding what it means to be pulled over.

They get into the car and Henry buckles himself up into his seat, seeing as Emma had taught him to do it on his own a few months before. Neal turns the radio on and they begin their car ride home.

It's about five minutes into the twenty minute drive that Henry asks his question. "Papa," he calls and Neal looks at his son through the rear-view mirror. "What's Mama do?" he asks and Neal sighs, looking at the road. _This'll be a hard one to answer._

He looks in the mirror once again to find his son staring at him through it. "Well, buddy, she helps the police with catching the bad guys…" he begins to explain, and before he can add anything to it, Henry's hands go up in the air.

"She's like a superhero!" he calls without question and Neal nods, looking back at Henry and chuckling. "Mama's _our_ superhero, Papa!" Henry yells from the backseat, and while it's distracting, nothing has ever made Neal want to let out a high-pitched high-school-girl squeal than when Henry said that.

* * *

Emma's already home when they get there and Henry goes running into the kitchen to meet her. "Mama! You're a superhero!" he exclaims as she picks him up and she tilts her head to the side, smiling but confused. "Because you get the bad guys," he explains and she smiles, chuckling at the idea of her being a superhero.

She puts her on his side as he holds onto her. "Henry, baby, I'm not a superhero, I'm a-" he cuts her off with his arms thrown around her neck.

"Yes you are!" he yells, and she knows better than to argue with a feisty four-year-old.


	69. I love you, too!

**Well, it's kind of late at night, so I'm sorry. This is a sequel to Katie which was requested by oncer4life11. Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma looks at her phone once again, checking to make sure that Neal hasn't yet responded to her message about babysitting Katie with her tonight. She shook her head, putting the phone down and looking at the computer and continuing to put her files into it.

He'd probably get back to her at some point before tonight. There's been more than one occasion where he's missed a text or call from her because he was out doing God-knows-what for work. He's probably just busy and can't answer his phone or something like that.

She picks up the next file and begins entering the information from it when she finds herself checking the phone again. She sighs, closing her eyes and biting her lip before opening a drawer, putting her phone inside, and locking it. She continues to do her work.

Then, finally, the phone rings.

She scrambles to take it out of the drawer, hoping that the person on the other end was Neal instead of her mother. The phone rings and rings and on its very last one, she answers. "Hey," she says, a little out of breath from trying to figure out how to open the drawer without destroying the desk.

She can hear the question in his voice as he answers. "Hey, what's up?" he asks and she sits back down in her chair, looking back at the computer screen and entering files with one hand as she talks on the phone. "You wanted me to call you," he says, trying to get her to speak instead of just sit and say nothing.

She chuckles and remembers what she was going to say, her heart racing just a tiny bit because dear _God_ she doesn't want to babysit a three-year-old alone. "Oh, yeah," she starts, looking at her computer. "I was wondering if you'd want to babysit Katie with me tonight? You could sleep over," she asks, waiting for a response and not getting one.

She looks at the ceiling, sighing at her choice of word. _No, of course, he doesn't want to babysit a three-year-old who still screams and throws tantrums._ He starts speaking before she starts listening so all she hears is. "-can do that. What time?" she takes a breath in and thinks for a second about what he's talking about before responding.

She sighs really quickly and looks at the desk, at the stack of papers she has to file before tonight. "Around 6:30, I think. Paperwork is, like, covering my desk, so I have to finish around half of this by tonight," she explains and he nods, or at least, she can hear him nod, on the other side of the phone.

She can hear him do something that requires moving on the other side of the phone before he responds. "Okay. I'll be there. I get off work in about a half-hour, so I can come by the station and bring you lunch if you want," he says and she smiles, a little bit confused, before responding to him.

She looks down at her desk to find the paper she was filing and continues to put it into the computer while she talks. "Okay. Why are you getting off at...1:30?" she asks, looking at the clock and knowing that he normally has to stay later than that to help with things around the shop.

She puts her hand down on the desk and sighs, realizing that maybe filling out paperwork and talking on the phone at the same time isn't really her thing. "Papa's letting me go early. Something about 'organizing isn't my forte'. Either way, I'm good with that, I get to leave work early," he says excitedly and Emma chuckles, looking out the window.

She looks over at the door and smiles, watching as people walked by the station. "Anyway, I'll be there in around 40 minutes with lunch," he says and she chuckles, looking at the ground and then back up at the window to the room.

* * *

Lunch goes by quick and he then goes to sit on a chair across the room so she can get her work done, which made her want to finish it more so that he would talk to her instead of shaking his head and be reminding her to work every time she talked to him.

It's around 6:00 when she finishes filing the paperwork into the system and he smiles as she sighs in relief and leans back against her chair. "Finally," she mumbles and he smiles, standing up and getting her coat, walking it over to her. She smiles at him, shoving it on. "Thank you," she says before they begin to leave the station.

Neal puts his arm around her as they walk outside, facing the absolutely freezing cold weather. "Wanna get some coffee first?" he asks and she nods, looking out towards Granny's and smiling at him.

They walk across the street slowly, trying to keep each other warm until they get to Granny's. It's warmer than it usually feels inside, probably because it feels like the Arctic decided to go on a vacation and it chose its destination to be Storybrooke.

They walk up to the counter and Ruby gives Emma a look before walking over. "Hot Cocoa, or something with caffeine?" she asks and Emma chuckles as Neal orders his usual- at least, his _winter_ usual, a pumpkin spice latte.

He then looks over at her as they wait for a second. "You wanna try it, too?" he asks and she nods, shrugging a bit before Ruby begins to walk off into the back room but Neal stops her. "Can we also get two chocolate-chip cookies, please?" he asks and Emma looks at her, confused, but Ruby goes off before she can objects.

She then turns to Neal and tilts her head to the side. "One of them for Katie, another one for the people dealt with watching her," he explains before Emma shakes her head and laughs at him, automatically realizing the problem with giving a three-year-old a cookie before dinner.

"You do realize we're now going to be dealing with a toddler on a sugar-high, right?" she asks and he crinkles his nose up before his shoulders drop in disappointment and he sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. "Eh, it's okay. She can have it after dinner," she says and he nods, looking down at the counter.

Ruby comes out of the back room just after that. She hadn't even taken more than five minutes and like always, it was perfect. "We gotta go by the shop really quick and pick up my backpack," he says and Emma sighs. "I know, next time I won't forget it," he promises and she nods, sighing. "I mean it," he says and she raises her eyebrows.

"Yeah, okay," she says in a mocking voice and he chuckles at her as they walk. They go in the back door to the shop and Emma takes Neal's coffee while he picks up the backpack and slings it over his shoulder. "Thanks for the coffee, by the way," she mentions, handing him back the coffee as he reaches out for it.

He nods, smiling at her and opening the door for her. "No problem. Do you like it?" he asks and she nods, looking down the street at her parents' apartment building. She's moved out of there by now and lives in an apartment down the street from her parent's, in the building beside Neal's.

He chuckles as he watches her zone of as she stares down the street. "Hel-lo, earth to Emma," he says and she snaps out of it, looking back at him. "Whatcha thinking about?" he asks and she looks over at him and blushes a little bit.

She looks down at the ground and smiles. "How it's gonna be warm in the apartment but cold enough to cuddle up under a blanket," she tells him and he smiles, chuckling a bit and wrapping an arm back around her, squeezing her tight.

She looks over up at him and smiles as he talks. "Do I get to cuddle up with you?" he asks and she chuckles a bit, nodding and taking his hand that was slung over her shoulders. "We should take Katie someplace tomorrow," he suggests and Emma nods, looking up at him. "How about the park? She can run around a little bit and we can get frostbite."

She rolls her eyes, looking up at him and smiling. "Look at that, while I was making you laugh, we made it to the apartment without running into any crying penguins," he jokes, opening the door for her and holding it while she walked through the door. She laughs at him as they start to walk up the stairs.

When they get up there, her parent's are almost ready for her to take Kate so they can leave. They rush around a little bit, getting ready for their night outside of Storybrooke in some weird hotel in Portland. "We didn't feed her, so you might want to do that, sweetie," Snow says, looking over at Neal from a stool. "Oh, hi, Neal," she says, picking up her purse and walking over to him, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek before she and David walk out the door and leave.

He freezes and looks over at Emma, laughing a little bit before talking. "Okay, then," he says before walking over to the counter and dropping his bag down onto a stool. He walks over to where Kate is sitting and coloring. "Hey, kiddo!" he says, sitting down beside her on the floor in front of the coffee table.

She looks up at him and jumps up, happy to see him, and throws herself into his arms. He pretends that she pushes him down on the ground to make her feel like a superhero. "Look at that! You did it!" he tells her and she laughs as he picks her up and sits up simultaneously.

She sits on his lap and he watches her play with his shirt as she speaks. "How are you?" she asks in a singsongy voice, completely focused on his shirt while he thinks about his answer and how he can get her attention again.

"Very good," he says in the same tone that she did and it makes her laugh as she moves over on his lap so that she's facing sideways. She looks up at him, the same puppy dog eyes he's received from both her and Emma countless amounts of times before.

She puts her hand on his arm, leaning her head against his chest and pulling his arm so that it's over her legs and she can play with his sleeve. "Uncle Neal?" she asks in the same singsongy voice that she used a few seconds before. He let out a short hum and then waited for her question. "Can you talk in the funny voice?" she asks and he chuckles, looking down at her, who was basically clinging to his shirt.

He clears his throat and looks at the bathroom door, knowing that he'd start laughing if he looks at a person. "You mean this one?" he asks in said funny voice. The best way to describe the funny voice would be the best way he could imitate what it would sound like if he were to inhale helium.

She basically starts cackling, leaning backward and he uses his arm to make sure she doesn't hit her head on the floor as he looks up at Emma over at the counter, who looks like she's about to spit out a mouthful of coffee.

Of course, he can't really hear the funny voice from their point of view, so he can't tell if it's that funny, but given the fact that he's made Regina spit out a sip of water because of doing it, he could gather that it was pretty freaking hilarious.

Anyway, the fact that he'd seen both of them laughing hysterically made him start laughing, not to the point where he was about to fall backward or spit out coffee. He looks at his niece, who's still squirming around in his arms and he tickles her sides, making her laugh even harder yet beg him to stop.

He does after a few minutes and once all of them are calmed down, Emma walks over to them and puts her hand on Katie's back, who looks like she's about to pass out. "How about we go to Granny's and get some dinner?" she asks and Katie smiles sleepily as she looks up at her big sister.

She rubs Katie's leg as she starts to talk. "We can see Granny? And Dino Nuggets?" she asks and Emma chuckles, nodding a little bit as she picks up her little sister off of Neal and walks over to the door, grabbing her coat. "I like Granny. And Ruby. _And_ Dino Nuggets," she says and Emma nods as Neal helps get the little girls coat on.

"I know, Kiki. I know," she says, using her own personal nickname for the little girl. "Let's stay awake to see them, okay?" she asks and Katie nods, putting her head down on her shoulder. "Kate Nolan, that does not mean, 'let's fall asleep on Emma'," she explains and Katie starts laughing.

Neal reaches over at takes the little girl from her, knowing that it would make it easier for Emma not to have to carry a thirty-pound child the entire way to the restaurant in the freezing cold weather. "I got her," he mumbles as he takes her into his arms and Emma locks the door behind them as they walk outside.

The cold air hits Kate like a ton of bricks and she tenses up against Neal's chest, beginning to cry and he looks at Emma, making a sad face. Emma puts her hand on Neal's arm as they walk across the street. It's starting to get dark outside, so the main goal would be to finish eating as soon as possible so they don't have to walk back in the dark.

Emma holds the door open for Neal, who takes Kate over to their usual booth and tries to calm her down, knowing that the cold that she can still feel is bothering her. "It's okay, kiddo. You're gonna get warm again, I promise. You want up?" he asks after sitting her down beside him in the booth. She nods and he reaches over, picking her up and she wraps her arms around him, trying to get warm that way.

He chuckles and reaches down, kissing her forehead as Emma comes back with three hot cocoas. "I managed to get these off of Ruby. She'll bring the food back in a few minutes," she states and he nods, taking one of the hot cocoas in a mug, and the other one was in a styrofoam cup and considerably colder for Kate.

He was able to pry her off of him after a few minutes of persuasion and bribing and he handed her the cup, getting her to drink it. She sat happily beside him in her little plastic seat that sat on the booth that Emma had brought over.

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Katie fell asleep in her chair at dinner, so there were no tears on the walk back home. Once they got there, Neal went to tuck her in. So, wanting to see what he'd do, she followed him upstairs without him knowing.

She watched, leaning against the door frame.

He laid her down gently on the bed, slowly slipping off her coat and changing her shirt and pants into pajamas careful not to wake her up, before pulling the blankets up to keep her warm in the bed. "Hey, kiddo," he whispers, putting his hand on her arm.

"I don't know if you know this, but I love you a lot. I might not be around very much -at least not as much as I'd like to be-, and that's entirely my fault. I'm sorry. I just… I love your sister, too, and I don't want her to think that she has to do anything with me because I'm around a lot," he whispers to the sleeping child, gently and quietly, as if she can hear him.

Meanwhile, Emma stands in the door and covers her mouth with her hand, tears forming in her eyes. "Still, that probably doesn't matter to you," he says, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on her forehead. "Remember that I love you," he whispers to her and she stirs around in her sleep. He fixes the blankets before standing up.

He turns around and sees Emma standing there and his eyes go wide before he blushes. "How long have you been standing there?" he asks and she makes a face, smiling a bit, her own face red and teary.

She takes a step forwards, towards him, and stands still for a minute. "Long enough to say 'I love you, too'," she whispers and he blushes a little bit as she walks towards him and wraps her arms around his neck, turning her head and kissing his cheek.

Then, a small little human being that they both thought was knocked cold jumps out of her bed and runs over to them, wrapping her arms around their legs. They both laugh at her and she looks up at them. "I love you, too!" she yells, not knowing that it wasn't the appropriate time but clearly knowing what to say when somebody says 'I love you'.


	70. Do What You Want

**Hi! I'm having a happy day/night and I hope you are, too!**

 **I know that there are a lot of requests from all kinds of accounts, some that I've never even gotten a review from before, so I'll start working on one of those probably tomorrow, but I wanted to do one that _I_ thought of today. You can still give me requests, even if I have a lot, I see all of them and try to do them all, too.**

 **This was based off something I saw on Pinterest (I hope you all know that I have multiple boards just for ideas XD) and I wanted to write it. I hope you all enjoy this and please read the note at the bottom. Enjoy!**

Emma sits in her booth at Granny's, watching as the rest of the town celebrates that they've gotten back from Neverland, but she can't bring herself to be happy. The whole time they were there, she had tried to focus on Henry and making sure he was safe but now that they were back, she couldn't do that anymore.

She had to focus on the fact that her parents said to her face that they wanted to replace her with another kid, that she didn't mean anything to them; at least not enough for them to just be fine with her for more than three months.

So, she's moping. She feels like she deserves a chance to do that, just sit and mope. Moping is easier than not moping, which is what she feels like she should be doing. She leans back against the back of the booth and takes a breath, looking at the boom-box in the back of the room.

Neal steps into view as he walks over to the counter, beside Killian. That forces her to think about how awkward it's going to be the next time she sees either of them anywhere unless something happens that involves her actually _choosing_ one of them, which she can't see happening.

So, the awkwardness would just need to continue. She looks out the window at the dark city with the lights lighting everything up. She chuckles, wishing that it wasn't, in fact, such a small city so that she could go and run off to someplace without anyone finding her.

She puts her hand on the window, feeling the cold air radiating off of it because holy _crap,_ winter in Maine was not something to take for granted. It was nice, feeling how cold it was outside and how it didn't feel like you were about to burn to death at any point in the year.

She turns her head to face the counter, seeing Neal walk away from Killian while the pirate begins to sulk. She looks down at the pattern on the table, beginning to count the little specks of blue in it.

In the process of doing this, she doesn't realize that Neal has since walked over to her and taken a seat on the opposite side of the table from her. She looks up at him and smiles, sighing a little bit.

"I'm not in the mood for any kind of flirting right now. I was basically informed that my parents don't want me anymore and want to replace me with a tiny human-monster and I'm moping, so save it," she explains and he remains silent and looking shocked before putting his hand on the table, stopping himself from reaching across it and taking her hand.

His mouth opens for a second before he closes it and just sits, staring at her and trying to understand how she's not so upset about this. "What?" he sighs, looking her in the eyes and raising his eyebrows. "They just… want to get rid of you?" he asks and she presses her lips together, playing with her hands.

She looks up at him and gives him a look. "My Mom said she wants to have another baby, my Dad didn't oppose, neither of them said anything about me coming back with them and I heard them mention something along the lines of doing something that is definitely _not_ G-rated tonight," she rants and he nods, tilting his head to the side.

He looks her in the eye, reaching across the table and separating her hands from each other because she was scratching the skin off with her nails. "Is it possible that they just want a night alone?" he asks, scratching a bite on the back of his wrist as he looks at her.

She shrugs, looking down at the table and sighing. "I'm not sure. It didn't sound that way. It sounded like they want _every_ night alone, for like, forever," she murmurs and he nods, looking over at her parents sitting at the bar and acting all lovey-dovey over each other.

He opens his mouth to talk but she catches him. "-no, I can't ask. How stupid would that sound?" she asks rhetorically and he nods, glancing down at the table. "But, also, how else am I supposed to know? I think they sometimes forget that just because I have magic does _not_ mean I can read minds," she says, leaning back against the booth and sighing.

He chuckles and sits up, looking over at her parents and back at her. "You want me to go ask them for you?" he asks and she shakes her head, looking him in the eyes. He nods, sitting back as well before Ruby walks over.

They both look up at her as she asks if they want anything, to which Emma looks to Neal. "Uh, do you still have the pumpkin spice lattes from before?" he asks and Ruby nods, just before they both look to Emma. "You want anything? Alcohol, hot cocoa, coffee?" he asks and she looks down at the table, getting overwhelmed by such a simple choice.

Neal reaches across the top of the table and takes her hand, squeezing it tightly before releasing it just so she knows that he's there. For a second, there's absolute silence, and then he just decides to maybe get her something instead of putting her on the spot. "Um, maybe a hot cocoa?" he asks and Ruby nods, smiling at them and putting her hand on Emma's shoulder before walking off to the back.

He moves to the side of the booth that she's on and he sits beside her, putting his hand on her back and taking her hand. She willingly goes into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. "Do you want to do anything?" he asks, looking down at her.

"I can tell that it's a bit much for you in here, it is for everybody. We could go for a walk, or to my room, or I could take you home," he lists, trailing off after she has a few choices on the table and certainly not all of them. "Or we could just stay here and drink some hot cocoa," he says and she shakes her head, looking down at the table and pulling away from him.

She looks down at the table as Ruby runs back in with their drinks before speeding off to take another person's order, saying that this one is on the house for saving everyone's lives. He passes her the drink and goes to sit opposite her at the table. "So… what do you want to do?" he asks, looking over at her and noticing that she hasn't even touched her drink yet, which was highly unusual.

She shrugs, leaning forward. "Do whatever you want with me," she tells him. It's at that moment when he realizes that there's something new in her eyes, something he's never seen there before. There's nothing. Emma Swan doesn't _care_ anymore.

He tries not to show that he's shocked by this, and overall, he does a pretty good job at it before nodding. "Okay. Are you gonna drink that?" he asks and she nods, taking a sip of it and offering him a fake smile. Silence falls upon them as she finishes her drink and he does the same with his before taking her empty mug to the counter to help Ruby out a little bit.

When he walks back over, he sits across from her and she stares at him. "So, what are we doing?" she asks and he takes her hand, leading her upstairs.

She instantly starts thinking about what exactly is going to be happening upstairs and hoping that it's not what she _thinks_ will be happening upstairs. She bites the inside of her cheek lightly as they walk in the door and he takes her coat.

He smiles at her sweetly and she lets out a short breath, not knowing what she should be expecting because her mind is going at forty miles an hour. "Well, I don't have much to do up here. Do you like _Friends_ or _Lost?_ I have the box sets for both of them," he says and she smiles, following him into the living room.

He sits down cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV stand, opening the cabinets underneath it. He takes her hand and she sits down beside him as he looks through what movies and TV shows he has on discs. "Uh… _House,"_ he says, continuing to look. "Let's see… that is _not_ a disc," he says, taking out a book and putting it to the side.

She chuckles and looks at him before he looks back at her. "How did that get in there?" she asks and he smiles shrugging. "Wait, did you let Henry sort these?" she asks and Neal nods, making a knowing face as he takes out many, many more books.

He looks over at her and smiles, moving over and letting her look through the different movies and TV shows he has. She smiles and just takes out the first disk of _Friends._ "This is good. I need a good laugh," she says and he chuckles, nodding and taking it out.

He looks over at her as the doorbell rings and he smiles, standing and going to get it, her following shortly behind. There Snow stands, holding a backpack. "Here ya go, I have to go back to David now," she says and hands Neal the bag before walking away.

Emma opens her mouth in a bit of shock and tilts her head to the side. Neal chuckles as she snatches her bag out of his hands and smiles as she opens it to find pajamas, clothes for the next day, her toothbrush, and her phone charger. "Why did she bring this?" she asks, looking at him suspiciously.

He takes he bag and puts it on the chair behind her before walking her over to the couch and sitting down across from her. "You told me to do what I want with you. I don't want to hurt you, Emma. That was never my plan. So, I was thinking about it downstairs and I asked myself, 'what is the best thing we can do where neither of us gets hurt?'" he tells her, putting his hand on her leg and she smiles, her eyes beginning to tear up.

He squeezes her leg before continuing. "-and I thought almost instantly, 'pajama party'," he states, making her laugh out loud and look away from him before staring back at him. "So, if it's okay with you, what I was thinking was that we both get into some super comfy clothes, whip out whatever crap I keep in the kitchen for when Henry comes and as many blankets as I can find before cranking the AC down while we watch funny TV shows," he describes to her and she smiles, nodding and laughing a little bit.

He then looks her in the eye and smiles before continuing for just a little while longer. "-then, if you want to go home, I can drive you or walk you back. If you don't, that's great! We can cuddle up in bed and not fall asleep until some crazy hour like always," he tells her and she smiles, nodding a little bit before looking at him and smiling a little bit more than before.

* * *

At around midnight, later on, Emma looks up at Neal as they both begin to fall asleep on top of each other after having slowly migrated toward each other and were basically in each other's laps at this point. "Can I stay here with you?" she asks and he nods, looking down at her and smiling before kissing her head.

They slowly make their way around the apartment, putting the blankets and candies back where they were before. Emma walks up behind Neal as he's putting the DVD away and wraps her arms around him from behind, knowing that he's always much warmer than she is. "How do you fix the thermostat?" she asks and he chuckles, walking over and turning it up as high as the limit goes.

Unfortunately, that's still not warm enough for her. He squats down to put the DVD back in the case and she climbs onto his back, wrapping her legs around him. "Are you serious?" he groans and she giggles as he backs away from the TV, in case of an emergency, and puts his hands on her legs, smiling a little bit.

He takes her back over to the bed, letting her drop down before going around and turning all the lights off. He gets back to find her waiting for him, still falling asleep sitting up. He walks over to the side of the bed, turning out the lamp and laying beside her, putting his hand on her arm.

She rolls over onto her stomach from her back and slings her arm across his chest, her head tilting so it's pressed against his heart. "Thank you," she whispers, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek before leaning back and resting her chin on his chest, watching him as he looks down at her.

"For what?" he asks, smiling at her. That's when it occurs to her that he doesn't think he's done her any favors, he just thinks he was giving both of them a good time and maybe giving her a distraction from whatever crap was happening in her life. That makes her smile even more than she already was, at the idea that he didn't think she owed him anything because of got something out of it.

She puts her hand on his shoulder, continuing to watch him as she speaks. "For taking care of me tonight. You could've done anything at all, and you chose to take care of me," she tells him and he smiles, shrugging and looking down at her.

He puts his hand on her back, rubbing it up and down. "It's not a big deal. I like making you happy," he states and she lets out a giggle, scooting up and kissing him on the cheek once more before relaxing into his arms and they both fall asleep holding onto each other.

* * *

 **I hope you liked that!**

 **I'd like to let you guys know that I will take requests for CaptainSwan because most people like that better than Swanfire, but I will be posting them on a new story that I'll probably make when I get a request for it. I won't post on it unless I get requests, given that I'm pretty busy as it is, but if you have an idea for me I would love to take it!**

 **Thank you xx**


	71. Numbness and Happiness

**Hi! I'm getting started on those requests you guys sent. I probably won't be posting from around this Wednesday to after Thanksgiving because I'm going on a trip for school and then my grandparents are coming, but I'll try when I have time to write. Thanks for understanding, people.**

 **This one was requested by oncer4life11 as a sequel to Nightmares. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The door to the car closes as Emma jumps out. She looks up at the _Walgreen's_ sign for a minute and tries to remember where in the store what she needs is so that she doesn't draw attention to herself.

She doesn't understand how this happened; or, rather, how it _might've_ happened. Of course, she understands what caused it to happen, but they'd been so careful about it and they had always made sure that there was no way for anything to happen that they weren't ready for… until now.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before walking through the door to the Walgreen's, grabbing a basket and walking through to the back of the store. There weren't any dividers or anything above the aisles here, so she'd just have to guess where everything would be.

She peeks her head into the aisle and sees a giant section with a header marking above it. _Pregnancy Tests._ She doesn't know if it's normal to get so nervous about this, but she hopes so or else she has another problem to deal with after this is all over.

She walks over to the section, standing and just staring at all the options. 'Why are there so many of them?' she wonders. 'They all do the same thing'. She looks through at some brands that she's heard of before and some that she hasn't, and figures that the one she's seen on TV at least twenty times before has to be a good one.

She picks up three of them, just to be safe, and then goes into the next aisle. There _are_ a few things on their shopping list that she can pick up while she's there, so she tries to knock as much out as she can, including milk, eggs, cheese, sandwich meat, and chocolate.

She walks up to the register, her hands shaking as she empties the contents of the basket onto the counter. The clerk, a guy, scans everything without batting an eye and puts them all into bags for her before letting her pay and take them. It doesn't take long and before she knows it, she's right back out the door.

She gets into her car and practically speeds home, trying to dodge all of the stop signs and red lights on the way so she ends up taking the long way, which is normally actually the _short_ way with all the traffic in Denver. They had chosen not to go to Tallahassee, figuring that the weather would come back to bite them in the butt and they both liked winter better, anyway.

So, she gets to their apartment, the bag in hand as she went up the elevator and to their floor. She opens the door with her key and closes it softly behind her, not wanting to bother any neighbors or _herself,_ even. The loud noise of slamming it wouldn't do her much good in that moment.

She closes her eyes as she leans against the shut door, locking it behind her and setting her key down on the set of drawers beside the door. She fishes one of the tests out of the bag and walks over to the bathroom, setting it down on the counter and looking herself in the mirror.

God, was she a mess.

She rubs her hand over her face before opening the package slowly. She stops herself after a minute. For a second, she wonders if she should wait for Neal so they can find out together, but she knows that it will eat at her all day until he gets home, so she starts to open it again.

She ends up just tearing the box, not caring about the directions or anything. She'd seen enough on TV and Ads to know that if there were either two pink lines or a plus sign, it's positive, and if not, it's negative. She takes a deep breath as she figures out how to take it and does so, setting the test back on the counter once she's done.

She sets a timer and puts it down on the vanity beside the test before taking a few steps back and leaning against the wall. She takes a deep breath, putting her hand on her stomach and sliding down to where she's sitting on the floor and then closes her eyes.

Maybe the worst part about all this is that she doesn't know what she wants. A kid would be great; it would build their family, it would bring them closer… not to mention how happy it would make Neal. He'd always wanted a family. But then there's the fact that they barely know how to take care of themselves, let alone an infant.

She lets out a shaky sigh, covering her face with her hand as she looks up at the oven timer sitting on the counter. _One minute._ It feels like it's been about an eternity since she set that timer, even though it was only two minutes ago.

How is she even gonna tell Neal, if it says that she's pregnant? Is she supposed to make it nice? Will she even be _able_ to make it nice, or will she screw it up? She looks down at the tiles on the ground, seeing that they're still clean from when she and Neal cleaned them a few weeks before.

She looks up at the counter just as the timer rings. She gasps quietly, putting her hands on her knees and standing herself up, rushing forwards to grab the counter before she falls. She looks over at the door and closes her eyes for a second before looking over at the flipped-over test.

She reaches over with a shaking hand and turns it over so that she can see the results. She takes a deep breath before she sees them and when she does, she releases it. _A positive sign._ She's pregnant.

She knows she should feel something; anger, sadness, happiness, excitement, but she doesn't. She just feels numb. She looks at it for a second before taking the beaten up box and putting the test into it, walking out of the bathroom with it in her hand and going to sit on the bed. _A baby._ All she knows is that she isn't ready.

* * *

Neal's keys cling in the door as he unlocks it, opening it up and setting them down beside Emma's on the table. "Hey, Em! I'm home!" he calls, taking his shoes off by the door and setting them neatly against the wall when he finds that his girlfriends aren't there.

He walks into the other room, only to find her sitting on the bed, facing towards the window. She's obviously holding something, which is out of the ordinary, but what's even stranger is that her shoes are by the bathroom and not the front door, which is where she said to keep them.

He walks over to her, sitting beside her on the bed and she looks up at him, moving her hands to cover the label of the box a little bit more. "Hey. Whatcha holdin'?" he asks and she shakes her head, looking out the window at the city, all the people moving around, and doesn't even smile.

He puts his hand on her leg, tilting his head to look at her face. "Are you okay?" he asks, not seeing anything in her eyes. Just this empty look where she doesn't look sad or happy, just nothing.

She moves her hand and he sees the label of the box, or at least, what was supposed to be inside the box. He sucks in a breath before smiling a bit to himself. "Can I see it?" he asks, looking over at her. She sighs and nods, moving her hands off of it and allowing him to snatch it up.

He opens the already-undone flaps of the box and pulls out a small, white, plastic stick. He smiles a bit just looking at the back of it, desperately wanting to know what the other side of it reads so that whatever it is, he can help his love feel better- or at least feel _something-_ about it.

He flips it over in his hand and immediately smiles as he sees the plus sign in the middle. _Positive._ He puts the small plastic stick back in the box and sets it beside him on the bed, wrapping his arms around Emma from the side. "I love you," he whispers, squeezing her super tight.

He gets up, standing in front of her and smiling as bright as he can, taking into consideration the fact that she's still not smiling but he knows that he can make her at least feel something about this soon. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he mumbles, kissing her face over and over again.

She closes her eyes, smiling a bit and looking at him as he stops and begins to speak. "I know that you're probably not thrilled, mostly because this doesn't sound like all that much fun, but we're gonna have a _baby,_ Em," he tells her, in awe, a childlike grin on his face as he continues to speak.

He takes her hands in his and smiles. "A baby that we're gonna get to keep, and teach all of the special things in the world, and to watch run around on their chubby little legs and fall a lot but we'll get to make it better. Especially you, because you're gonna be a mama, Em," he describes and she smiles a bit as he sits up a little bit higher.

He pulls her into his arms and she smiles, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm gonna have a baby," she mumbles and he nods, squeezing her tight against his chest. "You're gonna be a papa," she whispers and he nods even more enthusiastically, kissing her cheek.

"I am. It's gonna be perfect," he whispers and she smiles as he lets go, moving to the floor and kneeling down in front of her. He puts his hand on her tummy, smiling a little bit before reaching forwards and kissing it. She watches all of this, happy and knowing that he is going to be the best daddy in the whole universe.


	72. We're Back

**So, this is something I wrote a very, very long time ago. It's probably covered in grammar errors and mistakes, but I've had a crappy day and I'm too lazy at the moment to edit it. I might do it later but now I'm taking a break. I might try and get some requests done later. I also might not. I hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

She had been lying about the plans she had for weeks. Neal knew something was going on, he just wasn't sure what… until she saw him in the diner and went to the other side of his booth, sitting down and waiting for him to look up.

She looks him in the eye, a sorrowful and guilty look in hers and she bites her lip. She reaches across the table and takes his hand, holding it tightly so that he won't pull away. "We're going back to New York," she says and he looks her in the eye, the look in his changing from their usual happy gleam to a sorrowful muskiness and he pulls his hand away.

He gets up and leaves the diner, walking down the street. Emma stands not a minute after him and follows suit, following him but he's running, making it hard for her to catch up. When she does, she goes in front of him, seeing that he's not only breathing heavily but he's crying, maybe even sobbing.

She pulls her into his arms and sinks to the ground, not caring about the dirty street beneath them. She lets his arms go around her tightly, showing that he doesn't want her to go and she _knows_ that, but she needs to get Henry out of town.

He knows that, too. He knows that this isn't the safest place for their son so they _do_ need to get him out of town. But he also knows that if she leaves and takes Henry with her, he's not gonna have any family anymore. Belle and his father were too caught up in each other and their relationship to notice when Neal was even home half the time and they were the only other ones in town that he really considered to be family.

Who was he supposed to spend time with during the day, Hook? No, he doesn't like Hook. His time trying to take Emma away from him had turned him away from him.

After a few minutes of Emma and Neal sitting in each other's arms on the sidewalk, he pulls away and part of him wants to get up and run again. "Why are you doing this? You're leaving me here without anybody. You promised me that you wouldn't do that! You promised me! We promised each other!" he yells at her, still crying and she nods.

He's right. She did. On the rooftop of the clock tower about a year ago. When they broke the Neverland curse. The two of them had sat on the top of the clocktower together in the moonlight holding hands, watching the stars and he had told her to always stay with him; to never leave, and she had agreed, promising that she never would. Not again.

She tries to pull him back into her arms- to console him- but he pulls away and shakes his head, looking away from her and over at the very same tower that they had made that promise on top of. Now they were across the street when she was admitting that she would be the one to break it this time.

Their promise wasn't even the whole point though; it was that she was leaving him like everyone he had ever loved had. She was abandoning him, just like his father had and his mother had like Killian had and Tink had. She was no different from them. She was taking his everything, herself and Henry, and she was leaving.

That wasn't fair. They had put everything behind them, they had forgiven each other for everything that had happened between them. And now he was being left behind and forgotten. Apparently, history repeats itself again and again.

-One Year Later-

Emma's phone goes off, a text from Mary Margaret. _You need to come home. Neal's gonna break any day now._ At that instant she runs into Henry's room, looking at him on the ground reading the book like he usually did now. "Henry, pack your bags. We're going back to Storybrooke. Your dad needs us," she says.

Henry jumps up faster than she thought was humanly possible and he begins packing things up and throwing them into his duffel bag. They hadn't stayed in New York, they had moved around a lot, to the point where they were basically vagabonds. It was just something that they couldn't find anywhere else. They missed Storybrooke.

So, they had a drive up back to their home from Boston. This time, they would be staying.

-The Next Day-

Neal sits on the bench, his head in his hands as he just stares at the street. He had done this every day since they left, hoping that one day, instead of the usual cars of people going to work, he would see the little yellow bug rolling into town, holding his family. He had waited every day, even in the middle of winter and he still not once saw it.

Every day he had lost a little bit of hope, so now he was basically just sitting so that he wouldn't mess up the routine he had set. Today's different, though. He can just feel something in him that says he'll get to see them again. Either they'll come back, or one of them will call him, or actually answer his phone calls for once.

He sits, fiddling with his hands, not bothering to look up at the street until he hears something familiar. A chugging sound, one much like the little bug's old engine made when it was in use (and sometimes not). He looks up, seeing the car pulling over to the side of the road to where he was sitting.

He freezes. This isn't what he was expecting for the day. Maybe he had felt something, but he had before, too, and nothing had happened. He's still not sure what's happening as he sees Emma get out of the car and she runs around to where he is, standing under the old tree that hung above the bench.

She throws her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Tears begin falling on both ends and neither of them notices or care that Henry is standing, staring at them like they're crazy people. Reunions can never get any better though, as they vary from time to time. There's been fights, and long talks, and walks through the woods, but not yet a completely silent one.

They don't realize that they're in the same spot that they stood a year ago when she told him that they were leaving. "I missed you," she sobs and he just holds her tighter, not trusting his own voice, even in a whisper.

She holds his hands tightly as she let's go, leaning back and smiling at him, that smile fading as she notices something glaringly obvious to her- maybe not everyone else -but definitely her. His eyes are sad, missing their usual light. The one that made her feel so safe, so happy… like she was on the beach like they were _dancing in the moonlight._

She realizes that to make him happy, she needs to do something exciting, something old… something she hasn't done in almost thirteen years.

She leans forward and kisses him hard on the mouth, making Henry groan in disgust. She can feel Neal smiling against her until she lets go. She leans back, still holding his hands and smiling brightly as she sees that that did the trick.

She made Neal Cassidy happy again and she never planned on taking that away ever again.


	73. Coffee Shops

**Hello, people. I disappeared for a while and I'm sorry, I was out of town at a convention (one for my journalism class, let me know if you went) so I didn't have much writing time. Also, I'm getting sick, yippee! So, that's a pretty solid reason not to write, right?**

 **Anyway, you guys have submitted tons and tons of prompts and I will write them eventually, I have them in a note in my phone. This was an idea I got while I was gone and I started writing it right when I got back today. Enjoy!**

* * *

August watches as Neal gets out of his car- a used pickup truck bought for less than 2 grand outside of some shady city in Arizona. He sighs as he looks at his friend's choice in a car, even once he has enough money to buy a decent vehicle.

Neal slams the door as he gets out and August can practically see the dust coming from it. He notices a few bags in the back seat of the car and he turns to look back at Neal as he walks over to him. "You going for a trip? I didn't know you had anywhere to be beside Colorado," he tells him and Neal glares at him.

He throws his keys into the air and catches them again and again. "I'm going to find her," he states and August steps forwards, opening his mouth and getting ready to try to convince Neal, once again, that it's a bad idea.

Neal interrupts him, though, and he stops. "No. I'm not gonna keep on wondering forever if she's cold, or if she has food to eat and a place to stay. I'm going to make sure she has what she needs before I leave her alone completely," he says and August shakes his head.

He puts his hands into his pockets, sighing and closing his eyes. He doesn't want to know how many illegal things Neal's going to have to do before he can find Emma, but he's guessing it's too big a number. "You know where she is?" he asks and Neal tilts his head to the side, playing with the leather keychain on his keyring.

"No, but I don't really have a limit as to what I'll do in order to make sure she's okay. It's pretty safe to say that you're not gonna tell me where she is, are you?" he asks and August sighs, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small slip of paper.

He hands Neal the little paper. "I've been keeping tabs on her since she was released. This is the last place I was able to find a record of her at," he explains, looking over at the water beside them. "I don't like this, Neal," he says, using his name for the added effect, but it doesn't work very well.

He grips his keys as he begins to walk back to his car. "I'm gonna find her, and I'm gonna make it right. She won't be alone much longer," he states and August nods, looking over at him and smiling before Neal opens the door to his car, producing a new cloud of dust before slamming it hard and driving off.

* * *

He takes a minute after he pulls up into the parking lot of the place that August wrote down for him, just sitting and hoping that they can tell him where she is. He takes a deep breath as he opens the door to his car, stepping out before walking to the door of the little coffee shop.

He looks around the room for her, but can't find her anywhere. He sighs, pausing before taking a breath and walking up to the counter. "Hi, um… I'm looking for someone. Emma Swan; she's blonde, green eyes, apparently has been here before," he lists and the woman standing there nods, putting a cleaned mug down on the bar.

She looks over at the bar of coffee-making supplies before responding. "Yeah, she's a strange one. Never asks for coffee, just comes in and sits in front of the fireplace. I think she's a runaway or somethin'," the lady says, leaning against the counter on the other side. "You got a name? I'll send her a message, maybe leave a number?" she asks and he nods, taking out a paper.

He writes out a little note, along with his phone number and a twenty for Emma to get something to eat and drink later. He doesn't leave his name in fear that if Emma knows who's looking for her, she might not call. The mystery of not knowing, though; that might be enough to get her to pick up a phone. He hands it back to the lady, who squints as she reads it before nodding and shoving it into her pocket.

Neal doesn't know if that's a good sign, but he hopes that it doesn't mean anything bad, necessarily. He puts his hands down flat on the counter and looks up at the woman. "Promise you'll get that to her?" he asks and she nods before he stands up and walks out of the coffee shop, going to go and get a motel room for the night.

* * *

Later that night, his phone begins to ring. He reaches across the bed and picks it up, answering it with a swift motion. "Hello?" he asks, putting down his book and placing a bookmark in it as he hears the person on the other end gasp quietly.

He smiles slightly, knowing that it has to be Emma; nobody else makes that kind of noise when they're surprised, not the same way as she does. "Neal?" she asks and he smiles even wider, chuckling.

"Yeah, it's me. It's like a long distance call from an old friend- or boyfriend, whichever you wanna go with," he states and he can hear her chuckle on the other end as she sets something down on a table. He smiles, sitting up and looking over at the other side of the room.

She begins to talk, looking over at the other side of the coffee shop, right at the fire burning in the fireplace. "It's really you," she states, a hint of a question to her voice, but he knows he doesn't need to answer. "Why are you calling me? You left," she says, obviously confused.

He nods on the other end, knowing that she's right; he had left, but he wants to make it better now. He wants to take her back and she could live with him and be happy. "I made a mistake. I want you back, Em," he tells her, not-so-confidently, because he knows that she might not be too fond of that idea.

He hears a noise on the other end of the phone and he immediately knows she's started crying. He grips the phone tighter because while she might be happy, the sound of her crying makes him sad. "I wanna come home, I just don't know… what made you want to leave?" she asks and he closes his eyes tightly, sighing and putting his hand over his eyes.

He puts his hand down on the bed. "I didn't, Em. I got scared. An old friend of mine came and encouraged the idea that going back to you was a bad idea and I believed him," he lies, looking across the room at the painting on the wall and shaking his head.

"Or, I did for a while. But I started worrying about you a long time ago and he held me back from coming to find you," he says, which was partially true and made him feel a whole lot better about saying it.

He puts his hand on the phone and closes his eyes, waiting for her to say something. "You're not gonna leave again, right?" she asks timidly and he closes his eyes, shaking his head before taking a second.

He opens his mouth after a few more seconds of silence, in which he feels like he might throw up. "I wouldn't do that to you, Emma. Not again. I wanted to find you to make this right, not to just turn around and walk out again," he says and he can hear her hair scratching against the phone as she nods against it.

He looks over at the picture hanging on the wall and then back around the room. He doesn't know whether or not she wants him to pick her up, still; but he knows that she might not know how to say that she wants him to come get her. That makes his heart hurt, just the idea that she might not know how to ask that, but he still asks. "Do you want me to pick you up?" he asks.

It takes a second for her to reply, setting something down on the other side of the phone, wherever she is. "Please, can you?" she asks, her voice shaking as if she's scared that he might not. "I mean, you don't need to if you don't want to. I've been okay," she says and he closes his eyes. His heart breaks and he closes his eyes, squeezing the sheets in his fist.

He looks over at the poster on the wall as he picks up his keys and walks to the door. "I'm on my way. You stay there, okay? I'll see you soon," he tells her and she mumbles a short response just before he hangs up. He then walks out the door and hops in his car, driving right on back to the coffee shop.

* * *

He walks in the door and he looks over to the fireplace, where the waitress said that Emma likes to sit. Surely enough, there she is, sitting with a coffee and some kind of pastry in front of her while she bounces her leg. He smiles sadly as he notices that she's still carrying around that little bag with her, the one with everything that she owns in it.

He walks over to her and sits beside her on the couch. She looks up at him and practically throws herself at him, her arms going around his neck. "Shh, I'm here. I'm right here. You're okay," he whispers and she nods. He's done what he's best at; calming her down before she gets too worked up.

She smiles at him as she leans back before moving back into his arms, realizing that she doesn't know what to say and that it felt better to be in his arms than to be out of them. He had taken one good look at her and sees that she doesn't have a place to stay, or food, or anything that she needs.

He intends to change that.

He puts his hand on her arm and looks her in the eyes. "You wanna come home?" he asks and she nods, her eyes getting teary again and he shakes his head, chuckling a bit and wiping her tears away. "No, come on. None of that," he says, taking her hand.

He helps her stand up and continues to hold her hand as they walk out of the coffee shop. "So, I live kinda far. Colorado, to be exact, so it's gonna be cold," he warns and she nods, sighing quietly in hopes that he doesn't hear it. "I know. We'll go shopping this weekend," he states and she frowns a bit.

He looks over at her and shakes his head and looks her in the eyes. "I have the money for it, I promise you. Don't worry about that, you deserve it," he states and she sits still, looking in the window of one of the shops they were passing. They get into his car a few minutes later.

He reaches into the back seat, grabbing up a duffel bag that was sitting back there. She squints at him for a second before deciding to look into it. She undoes the zipper and he smiles as she realizes what's in the bag. "You kept all this?" she asks in shock, smiling as she looks down at all of the old stuff that she kept in the bug.

He nods, looking over at her and smiling as he starts the car up. "Of course I did, I knew they'd check the car out before letting you take it and it would all get taken back," he explains and she smiles, calming down a little bit as they go and watching him.

She reaches over and kisses him on the cheek, smiling a little bit. "Thank you," she mumbles into his shirt as she moves down a little bit. "For bringing me home," she continues on. He smiles at her and takes her hand, kissing it but not saying anything as he continues to drive, her hand remaining in his.


	74. The Effects of Living

**Hey, guys! Sorry I haven't updated this story in so long, I've been working on a different story. It's called Swanfire Drabble Challenge if you want to go and check it out. I'll try to update more often on here. This is an updated version of a story that I started a very long time ago. Enjoy!**

* * *

It feels like the world is ending, sitting in one of the plastic hospital chairs in the waiting room. Emma feels the entire world closing in around her as she listens to her father's obnoxiously loud chewing. The fact that she has to be sitting there, waiting for news on what was wrong with Neal isn't helping to calm down the stomach ache she has from nerves and stress.

While she was looking at his wound at the cannery, she could've sworn that there wasn't anything there but a ton of blood, but the bullet was at the top of his shoulder. It could've hit an artery or a bone and done some pretty significant damage if it hit either of those things.

There was only so much that anybody can hope for at the moment, like that the bullet actually hadn't nicked an artery or shattered a bone, or something just as medical and scary as something like that.

It felt like hours have gone by in between when she had sat down in the chair for the first time that evening and when Whale comes out from the back. It could be for the best, though, as he looks like he is about to give them some very bad news.

Despite that, she rises to greet him and finally receive the news on how Neal is doing. She holds her breath as Whale begins to speak. "He didn't even need surgery. The bullet was practically hanging out of his shoulder, so we removed it in the room and gave him some stitches," he states and Emma smiles releasing the breath that she's been holding.

He looks over at Snow as she stands to join in on the conversation. "So, he can go home right now if he'll be with somebody, otherwise it'll be two days until he can be formally discharged," he explains and both Emma and Snow nod. Emma lets out a relieved chuckle and looks over at Snow, who gives her a hug.

Once she let's go, she finds Whale still standing, as if he's about to give them more information, possibly some that they don't want to receive. "He's resting, right now. He put up quite the fight while they were trying to extract the bullet, but you can come see him if you'd like," he tells Emma and she nods, looking back at her mom, who urges her to go.

* * *

Emma follows Dr. Whale through the halls back to where Neal's room is. There are so many twists and turns and exits in the hospital that it's surprising that they haven't gotten lost yet this far on their way to the room.

Whale glances over at Emma, who's just following where she's supposed to be going, and begins to speak. "He was trying to make sure that you were alright the entire time. Consider that to be your warning," he states as they get to a room and he pats her on the back before turning around and leaving.

She looks at him until he turns the corner, a little bit confused before she looks through the window to look into the room. There she finds him lying there, staring up at the ceiling like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

He's still in the clothes that he had been wearing before, which is clear evidence that it isn't as bad as she thought it would be. She smirks a little bit, walking over to the door and letting it creak as she walks inside.

He looks up to stare at her and he follows her with his eyes until she gets to the edge of his bed and sits down on the side of it. He leans forward as far as he can and wraps his arms around her, sighing in relief. "Are you okay? Whale wouldn't tell me anything," he whispers and she nods. His grip on her increases as he holds her extra tightly.

She smiles at him as he lets go, looking him in the eyes. "Are you?" she asks and he nods, closing his eyes tightly before releasing them. He reaches over a little bit to take her hand, only then noticing the nice bandage her mother had wrapped around her wrist. "What happened?" he asks, suddenly focusing more on that than holding her hand.

She laughs a little bit, allowing him to thoroughly inspect from her forearm to the tips of her fingers to make sure that her hand isn't dying or anything. "It's just a little sore. I think I might've pulled a muscle earlier," she tells him. He nods, sighing and letting go of her arm, leaning back against the pillows.

She looks at him and chuckles after a moment of awkward silence. "So, how are you?" she asks, being a little bit sarcastic as she looks at him right after he's practically collapsed against the back of the pillows.

He looks back at her, sitting back up so he can see her better. "I'm just perfect," he says sarcastically. She smiles at him a little bit as he continues to talk. "Oh, wait. No, I'm just shot. Not to mention the fact that I can't go home for forever, and I can't really see because they have me on twenty different meds," he says and she laughs, looking at him and chuckling,

She takes his hand as he sits up all the way once again. "You're over-exaggerating. You're going home in an hour so stop complaining," she states and he squints his eyes. She doesn't know whether or not he's confused or if he's trying to see her better, but she guesses that he's just confused.

She squeezes his hand as she looks him in the eyes. He looks like he thinks he knows what she's talking about, but he's not sure. "You can come stay with us. I have lots of space in my room," she tells him and he still looks super confused. Whether or not it was because he was on drugs, it was still heartbreaking for her to see him just not understanding it.

He very well could be understanding it, too, though. He might just not think that she's being serious. "I was scared earlier. Screw that, I'm _still_ scared. You can come with us if you want to and if not, that's okay, too," she tells him, standing up and kissing his forehead. She knows that he'll stop her from walking out if he really does want to stay with her.

That's exactly what he does. He grabs her hand, the one on her good wrist, and he holds her there. He smiles at her and pulls her back until she practically falls on the bed. "Thank you," he tells her and she nods, watching as she switches her hands. "I meant what I said back there, over the portal," he tells her and she smiles, chuckling a little bit.

"Me, too," she whispers, leaning forwards and giving him another hug. She then gets up, walking to the end of the bed, grabbing a clipboard with the discharge forms on it. She goes back immediately after that and fills them out before handing them to him to check. The nurse comes by within minutes to take them up.

Right after she does, Emma helps Neal up off of the bed before walking out with him, holding his hand into the lobby in case he started to fall. The meds made him a little bit dizzy and she didn't want his arm to get worse if he fell.

The second they turned the corner, Henry saw them and came running. He practically threw himself at Neal and both Emma and Neal winced as he was hit. Emma stepped forwards and put her hand on Henry's back, causing him to look up at her.

She gave him her best 'mom' looks and tried to be serious while she talked. "Be careful. You wouldn't want him to have to stay here, so let's not hurt him worse, okay?" she asks and Henry nods, beginning to look worried and he takes a step back. "That doesn't mean you can't give him a hug, just don't go charging into him," she tells him and Henry smiles before stepping forwards once again to hug him.

* * *

Less than ten minutes later, everybody has gone back to where they live. Almost seconds after Snow walks through the door, she tells Neal to go and rest. "I'm okay," he states stubbornly, but Emma puts her hand on his arms, making a face before taking his hand and pulling on it, getting him to walk upstairs with her.

She pulls back the covers on both sides of the bed, getting him to come lay down beside her. "I don't want to be up here. I wanna go downstairs with everybody else," he tells her and shrugs, looking up at him a little bit and smiling.

"Not everybody else is downstairs. I'm up here with you," she says and he closes his eyes, looking over at the wall and sighing, leaning back. Emma looks over at the dresser, where she had put his bag of meds earlier and she goes to pick it up.

She looks through it for the painkillers and pulls the bottle out. She looks over at him and hands the bottle to him, giving him a glass of water, as well. He shakes his head, looking up at her and closing his eyes once again. "I don't need those. I'm fine," he states and she shakes her head, putting her hand on his arm.

She sets the bottle down on the bed and rests the glass on her leg, still holding onto it. "Neal, it's okay to admit that it hurts. You were shot, it's supposed to hurt. I'd be concerned if it _didn't_ hurt," she tells him, turning around and placing the bottle and cup back on the nightstand.

The second she turns around, he leans over and wraps his arms around her. She closes her eyes, putting her arms around him gently. "Oh, honey," she whispers, knowing that if he isn't crying, he's probably close to it. She feels bad for him. Today probably hasn't been anything like what he had thought it would be this morning, and she knows full well that it hasn't been better.

She reaches over to the nightstand and grabs the bottle and glass back up, handing it to him. He takes it slowly, opening the bottle and taking out what the doctor told him to take before throwing them into his mouth and swallowing.

She rubs his back as she turns around, putting the medicine and water back on the nightstand in case he needs it later. "You go to sleep, okay? Get some rest…" she suggests and he nods, leaning back and taking her hand, holding it tight. She smiles putting her other hand on top of his and rubbing it.

He slowly falls asleep, holding onto her hand and occasionally mumbling something, but other than that, he's lost in his dreams and she couldn't be happier about that.


	75. The Woods

**Hi, guys! Merry Christmas (if you celebrate, otherwise happy holidays)! I hope you all are having a good break. I haven't been posting on here and I'm so sorry. I'm not home right now, I'm in California and doing stuff every day but getting ideas like crazy, so I'm trying to write it when I have time. Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma looks to Neal as Henry lets go of her, seeing the lasting relief on his face as he watches his son begin to walk away with his grandfather. She sticks behind with Neal, who doesn't take his eyes off of Henry as they walk.

About halfway there, she notices that David and Henry are a good distance away from them and they still haven't said anything to each other since they found Henry. She looks at him and her eyes slowly go to his hand, which is noticeable shaking. She gets closer to him, nearly bumping into his arm. "He's okay," she states quietly, trying to keep David and Henry from hearing.

He nods, not saying anything. She takes his hand, squeezing it softly. He squeezes her hand back, continuing to hold it tight. "Are you?" she asks and he nods, looking forwards at the trees and trying to keep quiet. She bumps into his shoulder gently, looking at the road ahead. "We can talk about it later on," she mumbles and he nods once.

She looks up at his face, seeing a little bit of panic and she can tell just by the way he's staring vacantly now that he's overwhelmed with emotion and on the verge of tears. She looks ahead at Henry and David and squeezes Neal's hand harder, walking faster to get him to catch up with them so they'd be able to talk sooner.

Once they get to the cars, Emma starts it almost immediately upon getting in. Only Neal is in the car by the time it's on because they'd passed David and Henry by a good few steps. She puts her hand on Neal's shoulder, rubbing in for a second before letting go when her son and father got to the car.

Neal takes a deep breath in as Emma starts driving and it sounds like he holds it until they're back at Granny's. When they get there, David heads off and it looks like Henry starts to follow him. "Henry, c'mere. You can go with David in a few minutes," she tells him and Henry nods, reluctantly following her and Neal upstairs.

When they get there, Neal opens the door and Emma practically has to drag them both to the couch. They both had other things to be doing; for Neal, it was crying, for Henry, it was going with David. Still, Emma felt that they had to sort through this all together and that was exactly what they would do unless they couldn't.

So, once they're all seated, she looks to Henry, who's sitting on the coffee table. "How do you think your dad looks right now, kid?" she asks and he shrugs, looking at Neal and then back at Emma. "Do you think he looks happy? Sad? Afraid? Relieved?" she asks.

Henry looks over at Neal and studies his expression for a few seconds before looking back at Emma. "He looks sad or scared," he says and Emma nods, looking over at Neal. She puts her hand on his leg as she looks at Henry, hoping that she just set the board for the situation to fix itself. "Are you, Dad?" he asks.

Neal looks to Emma, who nods, and then he looks back to Henry. Without saying anything, he just nods, looking over at the wall. Henry looks down at the ground before getting up and going to hug Neal. Without hesitation, Neal picks him up and swings him around so that he's sitting on Neal's lap.

Within seconds, both of them are in tears and Emma knows for a fact that Henry will never be running into the mines or the woods ever again. "I'm sorry," he sobs and Neal just nods, holding onto him tighter. Emma puts her hand on Neal's back and he pulls her over, giving her a side hug.

That's when Henry notices that Emma's there and he gets up, walking over to her, tears and all. He reaches down to give her a hug and ends up in her lap, just the same as he did with Neal. "I'm sorry I was mean to you," he tells her and she nods, wrapping her arms around him. She's thankful that he's at the age where he can still cuddle up with her and be able to fit his head under hers.

Neal smiles at her gently, wiping his eyes which are still red with tears. Emma's are starting to swell up and he passes her a tissue as Henry just cries and cries against her chest. "It's okay, kid. It's okay," she coos, in the same tone she would if he was just a four or five-year-old.

After a few more seconds, Neal turns on the couch and takes Henry's jacket off of him before beginning to rub his back up and down. Guilt is a burden, and their son is carrying a crap-ton of it at the moment. "Henry, buddy," he says, getting the kid to look up at him. "It's all okay, little man. We're not mad at you," he tells him and Henry sniffles just before Neal hands him a tissue.

He blows his nose and Neal takes the old tissue, wrapping it in a new one before throwing it in the waste bin beside the side table. "Really?" he asks and Neal nods, putting his hand on Henry's back. He then looks to Emma, who nods as well. Henry makes a face. "I promise I won't do it again," he states, beginning to cry again.

Emma pulls him back against her and Neal hands him another tissue as he sniffles once again. It didn't take as long this time for him to stop crying and Emma looks to Neal, making a sad face at him as Henry wipes his nose once more and Neal throws the nasty old tissue away.

Both of Henry's parents then reach up to hug him and give him kisses before he stands up, running off to go find David like he said he would be doing after leaving.


	76. Old and New

Neal walks into the room, finding Emma sitting at the table. She's sitting, looking at her computer and drinking out of what appears to be a wine glass. He slows in pace, walking over more slowly to her. "That's not… wine, is it?" he asks and she chuckles before shaking her head.

He walks over to her as he looks over at the counter in the small hotel room. "Cherry Cola. It makes me actually feel like an adult to drink it out of this, even though I don't drink," she states and he nods once, walking over to see where the drink she had was. "It's in the fridge. You should try it, it's very mature-feeling."

Emma watches as he reaches over, opening in the fridge and grabbing it out. He looks around for the glass before finding one almost identical to Emma's and filling it up with the auburn-colored substance. He walks back over to the table, sitting across from her as she takes a sip of her drink and he does the same.

He shrugs, putting the cup down on the table and he looks over at her, smiling. "Whatcha doin'?" he asks and she looks up at him from the screen. "It looks like you're thinking real hard there," he states, placing his hand down on the table.

She shakes her head, looking back at the screen before closing the computer. "I'm just looking for a Christmas gift for Henry," she states and he nods, looking over at the wall and smiling a bit. "He had something off of some website on it, and we share the computer, so I have time to clear the history right now so he doesn't see it."

Neal nods, watching as she picks the computer back up. He pulls his chair back out before going to the other side of the table to see what she's looking at. He throws his arms over her shoulders, resting his head on hers.

He tries to be quiet so she can do her thing, going through the website looking for whichever thing it is that Henry wanted. Every once in a while, he makes a comment on one, saying that it's cool or that it's nice, or something else along those lines. Emma clicks on each one and favorites it so that it saves into a certain collection.

A few minutes after browsing a main page, they go into that little folder to find all of the ones that either of them liked. From there, it's a game of elimination. They unmark some of them, and the others are left the be decided between them. Over time, they just have to pick a certain one and go with it, hoping that Henry would like that one, even if it wasn't exactly the one he wanted.

Emma sighs as she closes her laptop and Neal reaches over, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll love that one, too, Em," he tells her and she shakes her head, looking over the table at the wall. "What 'no'? You don't think he'll like it?" he asks and she looks down at the table.

She shakes her head, looking at it and sighing. "No, he'll love it," she tells him and he tilts his head to the side, smiling sadly and rubbing her back up and down. "I just realized that I have something old to give him and I'm not sure he'll like that," she states and he looks up at her as she stands, leading him into her room.

She reaches into the bag in the closet and pulls out an old teddy bear and blanket. "When I had him they let me go to the gift shop in the hospital. I had some money that was in my bag from some jobs I worked before that they let me have because it was legal," she tells him and he smiles, rubbing the arm of the bear. "I never gave it to him. They took him to the foster home before I could."

She shoves both of the things back in the bag with a sudden burst of frustration. Neal reaches over and pulls her into his arms, seeing the tears on her cheeks begin to fall before he does so. He holds onto her tightly and he sways back and forth, trying to calm her down. "He'll love it, Em. I know he will."

* * *

Two days later, Christmas arrives. Everyone sits under the tree, passing each other presents. Emma keeps a careful eye on Henry as he picks out what he'll open next, hoping that he chooses that certain one at some point and that he'll like it.

Neal watches her, as well, hoping that when his son does open it, Emma can contain herself if it's not the reaction she was hoping for. He's sitting beside her and holding her hand, trying to make it so that when it did get to that certain point, nobody would notice that he's grabbed onto her hand for moral support.

After a few minutes, it gets to be Henry's turn once again and he grabs the present up off of the ground, setting it in his lap and undoing the bow. He begins to set the bottom gift in the package down, but Emma stops him. "Uh, you gotta open the bottom one first," he looks at her, confused, and everyone laughs before he nods and grabs the other one.

Emma holds her breath, smiling a bit as he opens the box on the bottom. Her, being the semi-emotional freak that she is, didn't know whether or not she could handle explaining to him what the things were, so she wrote him a card and stuck it on the blanket.

He took it off and read it through first, smiling a little bit before tearing up. Everyone watches as a tear falls from his eye and he puts the card down before picking up the blanket. He smiles and looks up at her, watching as she silently encourages him to open the other one.

At this point, she's crying and Neal's pretty close, but what breaks him and makes her into an emotional wreck is when Henry takes the other card out from the bottom of the first box and reads it before taking out the second box and opening that, too. He practically bursts into tears and stands up, crossing the room to get to Emma and he hugs her, holding on tight.

All of them are crying by then; her, Henry, and Neal. She puts her head down on his shoulder before he goes back. For a while, he doesn't say anything and he just set them aside on the ground, but later on he thanks her for it and she sees him disappear into his room.

She's a little scared that she upset him and that he hadn't actually liked them. She goes up to check in on him a while later, given that he's hiding in his room. When she opens the door, she finds her fifteen year old son lying on the bed, asleep, with the bear in his arms and the blanket beside him as well.

She gets a little choked up and takes a photo before going back downstairs to show Neal. So, maybe he did end up crying a few times that, and maybe she did, too, but overall, Henry seemed to like his present that was given to him a few years too late.


	77. Back Again

**Hey, guys! I'm taking requests by the way, and I'm still working on all the ones that I haven't posted that people submitted a while ago. Anyway, I got this idea from a Tumblr gifset (my username is at the bottom). Enjoy!**

Emma looks into the room, waiting for some- _any_ news from Whale. It's not as if he'd know what's wrong with Neal. Nobody did, at least nobody besides Belle, but Emma couldn't believe that kind of thing right now. Not when he hadn't seen Henry, not when he would _never_ have a chance to see Henry.

It's hard to watch as they poke and prod at Neal, trying to figure out something that could only be explained by magic. There's no way that this is something medical if she had separated him and his father's bodies before he practically died. Maybe he _did_ die. She didn't know, she just knew that Belle's reasoning wasn't something she was willing to believe in.

She looks down at the ground, walking away from the window before walking back. She's been doing this for a while; trying to will herself to walk away from the situation and just let it happen, but every time she tried, she had to go back. Part of her wants to be able to walk away. It might prove to her that she's able to let go and move on, but another part wants her to leave and never look back.

That idea, though, that she could move on, is exactly what's keeping her there. She knows she's right; she _could_ just go on and leave him here to wake up on his own- if he ever does wake up, that is. She wants to. If she could, it would mean that nothing's restraining her from doing anything she wants, but she also knows that it would hurt Neal. He wouldn't do that to her, at least, not again.

So, she continues to struggle to choose. She has to continue weighing her options back and forth until she no longer can, which is, in fact, when Whale walks out of the room. She checks the time for the first time since the last and sees that already, almost an hour has gone by.

She looks up at the doctor, who's wearing a grim expression and she can tell from the moment that his eyes meet her's that Neal didn't make it. She has to blink rapidly as Whale speaks slowly to her to keep the tears back and she stays, pretending to listen to him, until she somehow picks up on him telling her that she can go and say goodbye.

She practically shoves past him, not allowing the doctor to lead her into the room, and then she slams the door shut, locking it behind her. She looks over at him, laying flat on the bed with purple lips and holes in his shirt.

Her lip quivers as she walks over to the bed, sitting beside him on the chair next to it and closing her eyes. She reaches up and puts her hand over his stone cold one. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

It was supposed to end with them finding his father somewhere in the woods and taking him home. She was supposed to invite Neal over for coffee and they would stay up until the dead of night talking about whatever. Then, he would realize that it was late and he would go home just to come back the next day. It was supposed to end with them being friends.

Clearly, the universe had other plans for them.

So, instead of sitting at home drinking hot coffee, she sits in the chilly hospital room holding Neal's freezing hand and she cries. She cries until it feels silly to be upset. She cries until she feels like she no longer _can_ be upset, and yet, she still is.

It feels like hours and hours go by before she can get herself to stop crying. But, when she does, the sun is still up and it's still uncharacteristically bright outside- at least for Storybrooke. She looks out the door and takes in a deep, shaky breath. She closes her eyes and sighs before opening them again.

When she does, for some odd reason, her eyes go right back to Neal and she breaks down in tears once again. This time, she finds herself apologizing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she sobs, closing her eyes back up again and forcing them to stay that way. "I need you," she says out loud, looking at him and brushing his hair back from his forehead.

Like it has always done, it falls right back to where it was before and she lets out a tearful laugh as she remembers all the times that both of them got so upset over the fact that it wouldn't just stay where it was supposed to. She sighs, looking back up at his face. It had lost color since the last time she had looked at it, and she finds herself wondering how long she'd been crying.

She looks down at the sheets on the bed and then back up at him. He almost looks like Henry did when he was in the hospital under the sleeping curse. They always did look alike, him and Henry. She doesn't even know how she's going to tell Henry. She just knows that the kid lost his dad.

She sits for a minute and she thinks about it. Then, her mind ventures back to when Henry was in the hospital. She hasn't thought about that in so long and it makes her wonder why she can't get it out of her head until she remembers how she got Henry out of the sleeping curse.

Her eyes light up and she wipes the tears that have already fallen away, pretty much just making room for new ones, and she stands up, going over to the side of the bed that Neal's head is on. She takes a deep breath, tears still falling and her face still red as she leans down and kisses his forehead.

It takes a minute, but within seconds he lets out a gasp and startles her, sending her stumbling backwards. His eyes don't open for a few more seconds but when they do, he looks up at her and his eyes start to fill up, too. It's only then when she notices that the machines have started back up again.

She ignores it and rather than cheering with happiness, she starts to cry once more. It's not as if he's not teary-eyed as well, so within a few minutes they have two grown adults sitting and crying in each others arms.

Emma doesn't know how long they've been holding onto each other before Neal lets go of her, wiping his own eyes before looking to her and seeing that hers are much more red than his must be. He laughs a little bit, reaching over and wiping her eyes gently. "What happened?" he asks and she shakes her head, looking over at the wall.

His hand moves from below her eyes to the side of her face and she smiles, laughing a little bit as well. "I dunno. I wasn't listening when Whale told me," she tells him and he smiles, chuckling before pulling her into his arms. She smiles as he pulls her in, her cheek against his chest and his chin resting on her head.

He doesn't loosen his grip on her for a good fifteen minutes, but when he does Emma smiles and takes his hand. "Are you okay?" she asks and he nods, looking over at the wall behind her and smiling before looking back at her.

"I think so. Are you?" She looks at him and shrugs, leaning back into his arms and he chuckles, a sad expression on his face as his arms go back around her. "It's gonna be okay," he whispers and she just nods against his chest. Whether that means 'I know' or 'okay,' he doesn't know, but he does know that she's accepting it.

She then leans back and takes his hand once more, looking over at him and smiling. "I want you to see Henry," she tells him and he tilts his head to the side, confused. "He would want to meet you. I was thinking about it earlier and he would've been upset that he didn't get to see you again. I don't want him to miss the chance," she explains and Neal nods, pulling her into his arms as his eyes fill with tears once more.

Emma leans back and looks at him and she smiles at him, her eyebrows going down in a little bit of confusion and she can only hope that he's not upset, but happy. She sits up higher, pulling him into her arms and his head goes to her shoulder. He wraps his arms around her waist, like normal and she puts her hand on the back of his head as she closes her eyes.

When she looks at him she sees the tears falling down his cheeks, still, and she wipes them away, smiling and giving him another hug. When she would be done giving him hugs, neither of them know, but she's glad that she can and that he'd hug her back every time because he _could._


	78. Someone to Stay

**It feels like I haven't updated this in months. I'm so sorry, to anyone who looks forward to it. I've just got a lot to deal with right now. I'll try to do better. Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma looks down the street at her old house, the one she had bought with Killian. It was the first one she had ever lived in and felt safe in at the beginning that she could remember. She knows now that she was wrong to feel that way.

It had been good at the start, with lots of fires in the fireplace, candles burning, warm tea, and soft blankets, but over time, all of the warmth and safety she felt there went away. She hadn't known why when she first started to realize it, but she figured it out after a while.

It was Killian. He had started to say things that weren't okay in the slightest, he'd make threats towards her and Henry. She thought that all that might go away over time, but it just got worse, until one day he hit her and she had had enough.

That day was today.

It's cold outside, that's for sure. The temperature is in the single digits and she is not thrilled to be driving right now, but she knows that it's safer than staying with him in that house. She packed Henry's things after she packed her own, and she loaded everything up so that he wouldn't ever need to go back there.

She doesn't know where she's going to stay, at this point. She knows that Regina or Neal will take Henry, but she's not sure that they'll take her, and her parents' farm house is way too small for all of them to fit into, even if it is an upgrade from the loft.

She knows that it's safer, though, so she plays along with it. She drives into the parking lot at Granny's and pulls into a spot before jumping out of the car, dusting off her coat, and walking into the 'inn' portion of the diner. She rings the bell and Ruby comes running in, looking super surprised to see her there.

She walks over and gives her a quick hug before going behind the desk. "Hey, what're you doing here? You have to go through the other side to get to the diner. Oh, wait, are we out of parking? If we are, it's fine, you can just go through the back," she states, trailing off as Emma just stares at her, not feeling the need to listen anymore.

Once Ruby is quiet, Emma starts to talk. "No, um… I don't need to get to the diner. I need a room," she says quietly and Ruby looks up at her from the little notepad keeping track of all the rooms.

There's an apologetic look in her eyes as she speaks. "I'm so sorry, we're actually full right now. All the indoor heaters and furnaces going out is giving us a ton of business," she mumbles, and Emma closes her eyes and nods in understanding.

She takes off her gloves and looks at the door behind Ruby. "Well, since I'm here, can I just go in through the back?" she asks and Ruby nods, not saying another word or looking at her as she walks off.

Emma sighs as she sits down at the counter. Grumpy looks over at her and raises his eyebrows. "Tough day?" he asks, reaching over and taking a sip of his ale before setting it down to listen to her.

She nods, closing her eyes and opening them again after a pause. "Hook- he hit me. I packed up everything and got out of there. Now, the problem is, the only hotel in town is full, and my parents don't have the space for two more people at their house," she explains, looking up at her sort of uncle and sighing. "So, I have to see if Neal or Regina will take Henry, at least, and then go beg my parents to let me sleep on their couch."

He nods in understanding and bites his lip lightly. He claps her on the back, beginning to stand up. "Well, I hope it gets better. I gotta go back to work. Call me if you need anything," he says shortly before walking out the front door. She would not be calling him back. Everybody always says that, nobody ever means that.

She sighs, after drinking an entire cocoa that Granny's brought by, and stands up. She walks out the back door and all the way to her car without stopping to take a breath. She sits down in the driver's seat when she gets to her car and sighs, throwing her head back against the headrest. "Oh, I wish you weren't a jerk," she says to Killian, whom she knows can't hear her.

She then puts the keys in the ignition and starts the car, driving off to Neal's apartment building. She parks in the parking garage underneath it, afraid that Killian would come by and see her parked outside and take all of her stuff out of the trunk while she was gone.

She goes up the elevator to the service desk and eventually gets buzzed in on the intercom. Once she got to the top floor, where Neal's apartment is, she sighs and knocks on the door. "Hey," he greets, in his usual cheerful manner. He opens the door to welcome her in, and she does so, sighing again.

"Hey. So, can Henry come stay with you for a while. Some things happened with Killian and we had to leave," she explains, looking up at him.

He nods, making a face before smiling concernedly at her. "Sure. Are you both okay?" he asks, and she nods, smiling at him and walking forwards to hug him. "Okay. Just tell me if you need anything. Anything at all. I'll try to make it happen," he tells her and she nods, thanking him before stepping back and leaving.

She doesn't mention that _she_ doesn't have anywhere to stay, or that she was headed to her car to call her mom right then to beg her to let her spend just a few nights on her couch. She knows that if she does, she might end up getting hurt again.

So, she just does what she'd been planning on doing. She gets on the elevator and takes out her phone, finding her mom's contact and calling the number.

Let's just say, that phone call doesn't go as planned. She sighs and bangs her head against the rim of her steering wheel, resulting in a loud 'ow' from her and probably somebody calling the police- her father- to make sure that everything's okay.

Instead of going and checking literally any house in the town, or going to see if Neal will let her stay, too, she instead pulls out of the parking garage and goes to pick up Henry from the bus stop. When he sees her car, he instantly goes and gets in it.

He sets his bag down on his lap when he climbs in. "Hey, kid," she greets and he smiles at her looking at her a little bit like she's crazy. "So… we left Hook," she states. He lets out a loud cheer before she starts talking again. "But, Granny's is full and your Grandparents don't have space for either of us. So, you're staying with your dad for a while, okay?" she asks, not really asking his permission.

He squints his eyes and looks at her, confused. "But, wait… what about you? Where will you stay?" he asks, his gaze growing concerned, rather than confused.

Once they're back in the parking garage, she sighs and turns to him, putting his hand on her arm. "It doesn't matter, okay? Don't worry about me. Come on, let's get your stuff moved upstairs," she states.

After a good fifteen minutes of all three of them coming down to grab boxes, they have everything up and inside the apartment. Emma thanks Neal one last time before rushing out so that Henry wouldn't start asking questions and make things worse for himself.

She then goes and locks up her car, not wanting to sleep in it with all of her stuff in there, before going and walking to the pharmacy. When she gets there, she buys three protein bars and picks a bench in front of the store with the newspapers to go and sit on.

It isn't until Neal walks up to her that she looks away from the newspaper. "Uh, hey. What are you doing out here? It's freezing," he tells her, going and sitting next to her, who has not been shivering for the past hour and is starting to go numb in her hands and feet.

She shrugs, looking over at him and smiling as best as she can. "Well, people don't just come out here for fun, I know that," he tells her and she smiles, shrugging again and looking out at the road. "You could've just told me you didn't have anywhere to stay. You didn't have to sit here, alone and out in the cold for so long, Emma. Come on, let's get you home, okay?" he whispers, wrapping his arm around her.

Just him mentioning the idea that he wanted to take her with him made her eyes well up with tears. He leans over and kisses the side of her head. She chuckles a little bit, wiping the tears away. "I'm sorry," she whispers, looking back out at the road.

He shakes his head, looking over at her and smiling. "Don't be, okay? Whatever happened today, it was probably bad. Let's just take you home and get you warmed up, we can talk about anything else later," he tells her quietly, not wanting to announce her business to the universe.

She nods, and he helps her stand up and slowly walk on her slightly wobbly legs back to his apartment where Henry was waiting. He jumps up and runs to her when he sees her. He throws his arms around her like he did when he was little and she smiles at him, returning the hug.

Neal smiles at them before walking over to the couch and picking up a blanket for her that he throws around her shoulders. He then goes and makes them all hot cocoa that Henry drinks super fast before running off to bed. Neal turns to her, taking her hand and smiling. "Do you need anything?" he asks, and she leans against him, closing her eyes.

"Just keep me close, okay?" she asks. He nods silently, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the head.


	79. Forever Family

**So, a while ago I asked all of you guys if you had any requests that you wanted me to write. Well, needless to say, I didn't do that. I just kept on forgetting and stuff, so I'm going to try to do those now, starting with this one. This one was a request from OUAT Obsessed. Enjoy!**

"I hope that she's not too much trouble for you. We really tried, but I guess we just really can't understand what she's been through," Adam, the man who had fostered her last tells Emma as they walk through his house and to the bedroom where Katelyn stays.

He knocks on the open door and steps inside. Emma peeks into the room before stepping inside. Katelyn, she assumes, turns around, her head tilted down and she looks up at Emma. The first thing Emma notices is not the huge cut on her forehead, or the bruises lining her arms, but her bright blue eyes.

She smiles at the girl who stares up at her with a certain fear in her eyes that she can remember possessing, herself, when she was her age. Emma walks towards the girl slowly, trying to seem as relaxed and kind as possible. "Hi," Emma greets, walking towards her and crouching down beside her.

The girl just stares at her, not saying anything. "Whatcha got there?" she asks, looking at the girls hands, which are clearly holding a stuffed animal. The girl looks down at her hands before looking up at Emma and turning it around. "A teddy bear. Nice. My son has one just like that," she states, continuing to look down at the bear.

Katelyn swallows thickly and looks up at Emma. "How old is he?" she asks, her voice raspy from not speaking in weeks. Apparently she had barely said two words since she arrived at this home.

Emma thinks for a minute, mostly just processing that a girl who had essentially been mute for the past month had talked to her. "He's 5," she tells her and pulls out her phone, showing her the lock screen; a picture of Henry and Neal at the beach, Henry's holding a sand dollar that they found by the water.

Katelyn looks at the picture for a minute before pointing at the screen. "Who's that?" she asks, pointing at the screen.

Emma turns the screen and looks at it. "This one?" she asks, pointing at Neal. Katelyn nods silently, staring at Emma. "That's my boyfriend. My son's dad," she states, and Katelyn hesitates before nodding.

Emma looks at the girl and frowns a little bit, thinking about what she must have gone through to be worried about her son's father. Instead of asking her about it, she looks over at her backpack. "Do you have anything else?" she asks. Katelyn shakes her head, looking up at Emma to see if she's surprised. She's not.

She looks over at her and nods, looking over at Adam and then back at her. "Well, I think it's time to go. Are you sure you have everything?" she asks Katelyn, even though she knows that the girl probably is sure and there's no need to ask her.

She nods, standing up with Emma's help and grabbing her backpack. She walks towards the door and looks back at Adam before they walk outside. She runs back and gives him a hug before walking away silently.

* * *

They get back to their little house within five minutes of leaving the old one. "Is this it?" Katelyn asks when Emma parks outside on the street. Emma turns around and nods at the girl, who is practically in awe of it. Emma smiles and opens her door, getting out before walking around to the other side with the girl.

Emma takes a step, but Katelyn doesn't. "Is he home? Your son's dad?" she asks. Emma turns around and walks back to the girl, crouching down in front of her so that they're at the same height.

She takes both of her hands, looking her in the eyes. "He's not gonna hurt you, I promise. He's not like that. He's going to take really good care of you, okay? All of us are, even Henry," she assures, squeezing the girls hands, which are shaking like she's never imagined.

Katelyn swallows hard before talking again. "Is Henry your son?" she asks. Emma nods, smiling at her and squeezing her hands again before letting them go and standing up.

Once she's up, she takes Katelyn's left hand in her right. "You ready?" she asks. Katelyn takes a minute before nodding and she squeezes Emma's hand as hard as she can before they start to walk towards the door.

When they get there, Emma wastes no time waiting outside the door. She opens it quickly, walking inside slowly before closing the door behind Katelyn, hanging up her backpack on the short hooks by the door.

Emma shrugs off her red jacket and hangs it up on the hooks above where she put Katelyn's backpack. She looks at Katelyn and smiles. "Come on," she beckons, beginning to walk into the kitchen.

Katelyn wants to look around the house, but she's afraid of getting in trouble for going into a room that she's not allowed into. So, she follows Emma. Once she walks into the kitchen, she finds the boys from the picture both standing in the kitchen making something on the stove.

Emma walks up to Neal and kisses him on the cheek before turning the stove off, leading him over to where Katelyn's standing in the kitchen. "Hi," he says, crouching down like Emma had already done twice to get to her level. "I'm Neal," he says, holding his hand out for her to shake.

She freezes, not knowing what to do. She doesn't want to shake his hand, she wants to go back to her old home with Adam and Maya. She looks up at Emma, who's standing at the counter where Henry is sitting. "Neal," she calls, giving him a look.

He immediately moves his hand back and nods, looking Katelyn in the eyes, not looking mad at all, just like Emma said he wouldn't. "I'm sorry," he says, looking at Katelyn and she shakes her head, shrugging and pretending that it's less upsetting to her than it is.

Emma then calls her over to where she's standing across from her son. "Hi!" he says, his voice high-pitched and cheerful. "I'm Henry! You're my sister! We're gonna have fun!" he says and she watches Emma laugh and roll her eyes a little bit before standing and walking over to Neal.

Katelyn looks at Henry and then at the ground. She's not sure what she's expected to do at the moment. "So, what's your name?" Henry asks, looking over at her.

She looks up at him and smiles a little bit. "Katelyn. You can call me Kate if you want," she says, smiling at him, shyly.

He smiles at her and nods once, firmly. "Okay, Kate," he says sharply. She smiles and laughs a little bit. "You should come sit with me. I'm coloring," he tells her, showing her one of his markers.

She looks at Emma, who glares at Henry a little bit. Is is because he asked her to color with him? Or is she not supposed to sit at the counter like he is? She looks down at the ground and waits for Emma to say something, telling her to get out, or telling her to go to her room, or calling her a name. "Henry, you know we're having dinner, now. Put those away, please," she says.

Instead of arguing, like a normal five-year-old who wants to color, he stands up and sets the coloring book and all the markers and colored pencils in a basket on the counter. Neal carries the dishes over to the table and sets them down in certain places.

She watches Henry go and sit down, as well as his mother. She watches as Neal brings over another plate like Emma's and set it down before walking back into the kitchen. "Hey, Kate," he calls, not too loudly or rudely. She walks into the kitchen and looks up at him. "So, we have a couple different things here. We have a rule about vegetables most nights, but if you don't tell Emma that I said you don't have to eat them, you can just throw them out afterwards if you don't want them. Do you wanna pick some things and I can help you?" he asks and she nods.

He smiles and nods. "Great. So, we have green beans, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, peas, sausages, chili, and hot dogs. We don't always have this much food, by the way. We just make it all on Sunday night and heat up whatever leftovers we have on Tuesdays. Henry also takes mac and cheese in his thermos on Wednesdays," he explains.

She nods and he smiles a little bit before letting her pick some things off of the stove and he dishes it out for her before taking it to the table for her. She smiles as she sits down in the chair across from Emma. She knows that this probably won't be her forever family, but it's a pretty good 'right-now' family.

* * *

Katelyn sees Emma's car pull up in the line at school and she goes to get in. She opens the door and goes to sit in the passenger side seat. "Hi! Where's Henry?" she asks, noticing that her little foster brother isn't in the car.

Emma pulls out of the parking lot as she speaks. "Neal picked him up today. I have to talk to you about something, and sometimes it's easier to speak without him screaming," she states and Kate smiles, looking over at her.

Emma crosses the street and pulls into the parking lot of the community center. "So… our foster license is expiring next week," she states and Kate looks at her, her eyes widening before she understands what she thinks Emma is trying to say. "We want to know whether or not you want us to renew it."

Kate sits and thinks about what she's asking for a minute. "Well, I mean… yeah, if you're gonna use it again one day, but if not, then no. That would be silly," she states. Emma chuckles a little before unbuckling and turning to face Kate.

She takes both of her hands, like she had almost six months before when she first brought her home. "Sweetie, you know that's not what I mean. We want to know if you want to stay with us or if you don't," she explains, looking at the girl that had turned into her daughter within the past few months, with tears forming in her eyes. "It's okay, whatever you pick. We just want you to be happy," she tells her, looking Kate in the eyes.

Kate doesn't even think for a second about what she wants. She already knows. What she does think about is how much easier it would be for that whole family if she was out of the way. One less person taking up space, getting into trouble, needing to be fed and taken care of. All of that extra stuff would go away.

She looks Emma in the eyes and opens her mouth, closes it, and opens it right back up again; a habit she'd picked up from her foster mother. "I want you to let it expire. I want to go," she lies, choking on her words. Emma opens her mouth slightly in shock before closing quickly to cover it up.

She nods, looking at her daughter and tries to cover up her chin wavering and her voice shaking as she speaks. "Okay. If that's what you want, that's what we'll do," she states before buckling her seatbelt back up and backing out of the parking spot.

* * *

That night, she's sitting in her room doing her science homework when she hears Neal calling her. She stands up and walks out of the room and into the living room where she finds both Emma and Neal sitting on the couch. "C'mere," he says, nodding at the chair across from the couch.

He leans forwards and rests his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together. "Are you sure that you want this, Kate? Really, truly sure that you want to go?" he asks and Kate looks at the coffee table, knowing that he's not done talking.

"Look, Katie," he says, calling her by the nickname that she only allows him and Emma to call her. "If this isn't what you want- if you think that we'll be happier without you, or if you feel bad, or whatever it is that could be causing you to lie about this… please, tell us now, okay? You're not too much for us. Not at all. We all love you very much. We don't want you to go anywhere that's not where we are unless you're really not happy here," he states.

By the end of his little speech, she's in tears. He tilts his head to the side and clicks his lips together a little bit. "Come here, Katie," he calls her, and she stands up, walking over to him.

He pulls her down in between him and Emma on the couch and Emma hugs her tightly, stroking her hair and whispering things to calm her down while Neal rubs her back in circles. After a minute, she sits up and Emma lets her go, taking her hand instead. "I don't want to go," she sobs, breaking up the words and leaving spaces in between.

Neal closes his eyes and sighs in relief, as does Emma, and they both hug her super tightly. Once they lean back, Emma looks at both of them and starts to speak. "Actually… what if we adopt you? I mean, we'll have to get our license renewed anyway, but if you really don't want to go anywhere, and we don't want you to go anywhere, why not?" she proposes.

Kate looks at her in awe, like she had when she first saw their house. "You want to do that?" she asks, looking back at Neal, as well.

They both nod at her and she breaks into tears once again, letting them hug her again. This might be her forever family, but it's also pretty good for a 'right-now' family.


	80. Fighting

**How are you all? I'd like to let you all know that I'm backkk! Maybe not for long, but I'm not done with these stories, that's for sure! I hope you've all been well and that you can find the time to leave a review once you're done! Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma steps out of the bedroom, her face blotchy and red. "It's not fair," she states, looking directly at Neal who had taken a seat on the arm of her couch. "You can't just leave somebody and expect them to forgive you just like that! It takes time!" she all but yells at him.

He looks up at her and nods, making eye contact and at the same time making her extremely uncomfortable. "I know. That's why I'm telling you that I'll wait," he points out.

It takes her another few awkward seconds for her to think of something to say to keep this argument going. "I know it is, but you're telling me that you'll wait like you're expecting me to choose you! What if I don't want to choose you? What if I want to choose someone else?" she asks, looking up at him and waiting for him to say something that she could use against him.

She doesn't even know why she wants to yell at him so badly, but the fact that he is showing absolute patience isn't helping his case. She crosses her arms as she waits for him to find something to say.

"It's okay if you want to choose someone else," he assures, standing up off of the armrest. "I'm not expecting to win this. In fact, I'm expecting to fail miserably."

Her argument comes a little bit easier this time. "If you don't think I'll choose you, why are you fighting?" she asks, uncrossing her arms and swinging them out. "That's just putting both of us in unnecessary pain."

He looks to the side without turning his head and then looks back to her. "No, it's not. It's worth a try to me," he states and she sighs. "What're you trying to get out of this? There's nothing to win here," he asks.

She groans in frustration, "I'm trying to stop wanting to kill you!" she yells much louder than she had yet, causing him to look at her in shock. "You're perfect. You're amazing and adorable and I love you, but I hate you!" she screams at the end.

He looks away from her, hardly able to handle the anger in her eyes. "You made my life hell, Neal. You made my life perfect, and then you ruined it." He looks back up at her, making sure that she doesn't look like she's about to hit him before he looks away. "But, I still love you. And I hate myself for loving you. You're like a drug that I just keep going back to and I hate myself for it." Her voice breaks as she speaks and for a minute he's afraid to say anything.

He sucks in a breath before blowing it out slowly, trying not to let himself break down. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm gonna try really hard not to hurt you again," he promises. For a second, she looks like she's ready to make up and stop fighting.

"I don't want you to do this! This is my problem, Neal! I need to be able to scream at you or I need you to make me not want to anymore because if that doesn't happen, I'm just gonna keep hating you!"

Neal looks up at her and sees tears in her eyes begin to form. He takes a few slow steps forward, getting ready to wrap her up in his arms but she pulls away. "That's not helping!" she yells and he jumps back, returning to his spot by the couch.

He puts his hands on the arm of the couch before sitting back down. "I need you to act like you care! I need you to show some feelings besides that sad puppy dog look sometimes! I need you to scream, or to cry, or to laugh or just do something! Don't just sit there anymore!" she commands and he sighs, looking up at her.

The look in his eyes changes within an instant. "I can't scream at you like this, Emma! I can't just yell at you and not feel like I'm going out of control!" he replies, looking up at her, his eyes beginning to shine with madness.

She takes a step forward and leans in the same direction as she continues to argue. "You have to! It's not going to fix anything for you to just sit there and act like you can't be angry with me! Come on!" he looks back up at her and shakes his head, hitting the couch.

He bites his lip before yelling back at her. "I don't think you hear me! I'm afraid that I'm going to end up actually hurting you, Emma! I'm not going to scream at you because you want me to! I'm gonna scream at you because I'm freakin' pissed off!" he yells, looking her in the eyes.

She shakes her head, looking up at the ceiling and then back down at him. "You're not hearing me! I don't need you to scream! I just need you to act like you give a crap when I'm trying to tell you what I'm feeling- to actually engage- before you tell me that I need to talk to you about my emotions more! That is what I'm trying to do right now and you're not listening to me!" she yells back at him.

It takes him a minute to think of something else to say. "Well, yeah, but you-! Wait, this is about the conversation we had yesterday?! If you'd have said that I would've treated this like a conversation! Now we're screaming at each other, is that what you wanted?!" he asks and she looks back at him with wide eyes.

"Yes! That is exactly what I wanted! I've been trying to tell you that for twenty minutes! This is it! This is me trying to talk about my feelings!" she exclaims and he tilts his head to the side.

He stands back up. "Through anger and screaming?" he questions, stepping forward. This time, she doesn't step back.

Instead, she nods so fast he's surprised she doesn't pull something in her neck. "Yes, through anger and screaming! Just like if I was sad, it would be through sadness and crying! I'm not a robot, Neal! I have feelings!" she yells back at him, a hint of excitement in her tone.

He smiles at her, although he's sure they're far from done arguing. "That's what I've been trying to show you this whole time, Neal!" she practically growls. "I'm mad at you! I've told you why I'm mad at you! I don't understand why you can't see it!" she groans, rubbing her hands over her face.

He looks up at her and he sighs, stepping towards her. "I can see it. I didn't think this was about me seeing it, I thought it was about me screaming back at you!" he says, slowly getting louder as he speaks.

"It is! It's about you showing that you're actually understanding when I'm upset! It's about you acting like it means something to you instead of acting like it's just me talking about something stupid! I need it to connect, I need it to fit and to make sense!" she yells back at him.

He nods, looking at her and smiling a little bit. "I can do that!" he states, sitting back down once again. She sighs, breathing heavily after all of the screamings and therefore proving that she's done yelling. She stands still for a minute, just looking at him while he watches her.

He slowly opens his arms up, letting his body relax as he looks at her. Without saying anything, she walks forwards and goes to stand in the space between his knees, which are spread apart to help him balance.

He wraps his arms around her and she leans down to wrap her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "So," he starts, leaning back a little bit. She leans back as well and looks down at him, putting her left hand on his cheek and her right on his shoulder. "Does that mean that I have to actually get angry, or can I just scream everything I have to say?" he asks.

She laughs out loud before pulling him to her, giving him a hug. "You just have to act like it matters. No screaming necessary," she assures, and he smiles wrapping his arms around her, as well.

They stay like that for a minute before Neal lets go of Emma and leans back, looking up at her. "So, if you're done yelling, can we go get lunch? I'm hungry."

Emma laughs and nods, leaning back further and helping him up before taking his hand and leading him to the front door. They help each other into their jackets and begin their walk to Granny's, where they'd eat their lunch together in peace, knowing that they're done with the fighting for now.


	81. Losing Your Memory

**Hi! I'm back with a new chapter and I hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

Neal runs into the kitchen, picking up his phone, which was flashing David's name across it. He answers and places it between his shoulder and his ear as he goes to find his shoes.

"Hey, we've got a little situation," he states, clearly trying to prevent someone from hearing what he's saying. "Emma hit her head. We're at the hospital right now and they're saying that she's okay, but she can't remember anything,-" Neal interrupts him.

"What?!" he asks, pausing in the middle of tying his shoe. "Anything at all, or-" David interrupts him right back.

"From recently. She can't recognize any of us, Snow, Henry- but she's asking for you," he states and Neal stands up off of the bed, not bothering to pull his shoelaces tighter, and grabs his keys and coat before walking out the door and slamming it shut.

When he gets to the hospital, Henry's waiting for him outside. "Hey, buddy," he greets him, squeezing his shoulder as Henry stands and starts walking toward Emma's room. "How is she?" he asks, looking over at him.

Henry shrugs, looking at his feet. "They asked me to leave a little while after she woke up. She was kinda freaking out," he explains. "Grams was trying to calm her down earlier, I don't know if she's better now or not, but I think you'll be able to help her,-" he explains but stops when they get to the room.

Neal looks into the room through the door and David looks at him, but he can't see if anyone else notices that he's there. He turns to Henry and reaches over to squeeze his arm again. "I'll tell David to let you in in a few, okay? She's gonna be okay," he assures, watching to wait for some response from him. Henry nods and Neal smiles at him before going to open the door to the room.

All eyes go to him when he opens the door, including Emma's. She visibly relaxes upon seeing him, which warms his heart. "Hey," he says, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up on the rack by the door. "Sorry, it's raining pretty hard out there," he states, smiling as he turns and walks towards her.

She reaches up to him when he's close enough to her and he leans down to hug her. "Are you okay?" he asks and he can feel her nod against his shoulder. His heart slows down almost instantaneously and he leans back to sit on the bed beside her.

She looks at Snow and David, who are both watching this take place from the corner of the room. "They were saying that I lost my memory," she says reluctantly as if she doesn't believe it.

He nods and takes her hand as he notices her fidgeting with it. "You did. Hopefully, we can get it back, but if not, you're gonna have to go for a little while thinking that we're all crazy," he says. She looks up at Snow and David, who both chuckle at him, but looks down at the blanket when they look at her and stop laughing.

He tilts his head to look her in the eyes, which causes her to look back up at him. "So, for now, I guess I should just tell you about where _we_ are right now, given that you don't remember anyone else," he suggests, and she nods, smiling shyly. "Okay, well… what do you remember?" he asks, putting his other hand over hers.

"Well, we were in this room, and we were standing in front of a bed and there was a bunch of food and stuff on it that I don't think we b-" she starts to explain, but he cuts her off there due to the fact that her parents are right there.

" _O_ kay, that's enough of that," he says, chuckling and scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Was there a map involved? Or what were we doing? _Please_ keep it PG," he requests, making her blush before starting to talk again.

She tilts her head to the side, clearly trying to remember. "Well, there wasn't a map. I think we were going to shower? I don't know if we already had or not," she tries to explain, but clearly is having a hard time articulating what she's thinking.

He nods, looking over at her parents. "That's fine. I guess that's enough info, I mean, we must've known each other for a while. You remember us being together, right?" he asks and she nods, smiling.

He looks over at the door, which Henry was peeking through, and smiled before turning back to Emma. "We're not together anymore, are we?" she asks, looking up at him from the blanket.

He shakes his head and frowns upon seeing the despair in her eyes. "No, we're not," he confirmed, looking at her and tilting his head down to meet her gaze. "But we're not on bad terms, either," he explains and she looks up at him from the blanket.

"Then why did we break up?" she asks and Snow and David take this as their cue to leave.

He sighs and takes her other hand, as well. "Well, I had to leave you. Somebody who knew about your family and about your future came to me, and he told me that you wouldn't get to your family if I didn't leave. At the time, I didn't know that you were pregnant, but clearly…" he states, and she nods, looking down at the blanket.

He squeezes her hands, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Em," he mumbles, keeping his eyes closed and his hands in hers until she takes her hands away from him and wraps her arms around his neck.

He opens his eyes for a second, only to wrap his arms around her and close them again. "It's okay," she whispers. He lets go of her and leans back, looking her in the eyes.

"What?" he asks in disbelief, not even sure how the story of this could be okay to someone who didn't experience it, let alone someone who felt all of it.

She nods, taking _his_ hand this time. "Well, yeah. We take care of each other, right? That's all you were trying to do. I mean, my feelings might be different about it when I remember going through it, but now, it makes sense why you did it," she tells him.

He takes a second to process everything she's saying before practically throwing his arms around her, which pushes her back against the pillows. She starts laughing, wrapping her arms around him, as well. He laughs before loosening his hold on her to lean back a little bit. "Are you okay?" he asks.

She nods, pulling him back down to her. They stay like that for a few minutes before Neal leans back and looks at Emma. "We should get Henry in here, have you meet him really quick," he whispers, seeing how tired she is, but thinking about how worried their son had been when Neal arrived.

She nods, sitting up as Neal does so and watching as he walks over to the door and waves Henry into the room. "Hi," he says, stopping in the doorway.

Emma smiles at him, waving him over. "Hi," she greets, pulling him into her arms when he gets to the bed.

He immediately cuddles up into her arms and she closes her eyes, holding him as tight as she can. He pulls back after a minute and she lets him go. He leans back to sit how Neal was a few minutes before. "Are you okay?" he asks. She nods and sits up a little bit straighter.

"I'm fine, are you?" she asks. He tilts his eyebrows down at her in confusion.

Neal laughs at her and walks over to the other side of the bed, putting his hands on her shoulders and rubbing them. "You're the one who got hurt," he tells her and she chuckles, putting her hand over her eyes. He leans forward and wraps his arms around her neck, resting his head on her's.

Henry laughs at both of them before he leans forwards and hugs his mom again. "I'm glad you're okay. Do you know when you can leave?" he asks. Emma looks up at Neal, who shakes his head and shrugs.

"That's a question for Dr. Whale, buddy," he says and Henry nods, looking up at Neal and smiling. "But maybe when we get home we can all go get ice cream and watch movies?" he suggests. Both Emma and Henry get really excited at that, and he's reminded that he's the only person who knows how to be an adult in that room.

He smiles and kisses Emma on the head. Henry looks at her, who is apparently beginning to look more and more tired. "I'm gonna go back out there and let you rest, you look like you could use it. I'll come back later if that's okay?" Both Henry and Emma nodded as he leaned forward to hug her one last time before leaving.

Neal smiles and walks around the bed to sit where he had been before. Emma adjusts the pillows and leans back, almost laying down but not quite. "You want me to stay?" he asks, looking her in the eyes. She nods, looking up at him before scooting over in the bed to make room for him.

He chuckles when she pats the spot next to her on the bed and he moves over, laying beside her and letting her snuggle up into his chest. "Neal?" she asks, turning on her side and looking up at him. "I love you," she tells him.

He smiles at her and leans forward to kiss her on the forehead. "I love you, too, Emma," he responds, looking down at her and cupping her cheek in his hand. "Go to sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up," he whispers. She smiles, snuggling up into his chest and within minutes she's asleep.


	82. Good Moments

"Dad, _please_ don't walk me in," Emma begs, looking over at her father who just smiles and unbuckles his seatbelt. "Dad, _no!"_ he laughs as she reaches over and starts grabbing for his seatbelt, trying to put it back on him.

He manages to get his arm around her and mess up her hair before letting her go. "Relax, I'm not walking you in," he tells her, reaching behind him to reach his seatbelt. "I'll spare you that embarrassment for another time," he promises, receiving a glare from Emma in return.

He chuckles and reaches over, kissing her forehead. "You have fun, okay? Stop worrying," he says, putting his hand on the side of her face.

"I'll try," she mumbles, unbuckling herself and opening the door to the car. "You'll text me if Henry comes home while I'm gone?" she asks, holding the door open.

He sighs, looking back over at her. "That's worrying, Emma," he states, looking over at her as she stomps and rolls her eyes, still waiting for the answer she wants to hear. "Yes, if Henry comes back home I will text you, now _go_ and _have fun,"_ he stresses and she nods, closing the door and stepping back to watch him drive off before going inside the diner.

She looks around, for a second thinking that he wasn't there, only to find him just as she's thinking of going back. She walks over to the table, sliding into the seat across from him while he's looking out the window. "Hey," she calls and he looks over at her, smiling.

"Hey! I didn't expect you to show up," he states, watching as she shrugged her jacket off.

She looks at the table, sighing deeply. "I'm not sure I expected me to show up, either," she chuckles and he just smiles that sad smile that he's famous for and looks down at the table and start drawing shapes on it with his fingers.

It doesn't take her too long to realize what she's just said and she reaches across the table and takes his hand. He freezes and looks up at her, clearly nervous, which breaks her heart but it helps to know that he's just as anxious as she is.

They don't say anything for a long minute- neither of them know what to say and ruining this moment would be doing a lot more than ruining just _this_ moment.

After enough time has passed, Emma takes her hand back and looks away from him, smiling a reserved, walls-up kind of smile and he looks at her in a way that she doesn't feel like she should be being looked at by anyone- in a way that tells her 'I'm sorry and I love you'.

"Um-" "Emma-." They both let out nervous laughs, looking down at the table. Emma looks up at him, throwing her hand up in a gesture to let him know that he can go. "I didn't know what I was going to say, anyway," she laughs.

He smiles and chuckles at her, closing his eyes. "I just wanted to say that I'm happy you decided to come."

She smiles a real, less reserved smile. "Me too."


	83. No Kissing

**So, this chapter and the last one have been really short drabbles but I can't think of any ideas for long ones and I've been on Tumblr a lot where drabbles are easier to post than actual one-shots. So, yeah... Enjoy**

* * *

"You can't touch me, you'll get sick, too," she mumbles rolling away from where he's sitting in the chair next to the bed.

He groans, putting his face in his hands and combing his fingers through his hair. "I've had a sore throat all day, okay? I've been around you and I'm already catching whatever you have. Will you please let me rub your back now?" he asks, looking down into her eyes which are red from her rubbing the water out of them all day.

She looks up at him, looking hesitant. "You should go home then and get all the germs off of you before you really get sick," she tells him and he shakes his head, leaning forwards.

"I promised your parents that I'd take care of you while they're at work, I'm not leaving until they're back," he says quietly, getting less frustrated and more concerned for her as she starts to have yet another coughing fit.

He reaches over and grabs the glass of water on her nightstand, handing it to her. She takes a big sip of it and sighs, plopping down on the bed. "Fine," she grunts and he smiles, scooting the chair closer to the bed and taking her hand.

"Thank you," he smiles, leaning forwards to kiss her head but she puts her hand up and presses it against his forehead.

"I said you could rub my back, stupid. No kissing allowed," she mutters, letting her arm fall back down.

He smiles, combing through the hair that's against her back. "Okay," he mumbles, taking her hand back. "No kissing."


	84. Once Again

**This was requested by Swanfire4ever a very long time ago. I'm going to try to get to those requests you guys left forever ago really soon, I promise! Thanks to Oncer4Life11 for reminding me! Enjoy!**

* * *

The knock at the door causes everyone to freeze, eyeing each other with 'who are we missing?' looks. "I'll get it," Henry offers, standing slowly. Emma squeezes his shoulder, offering him a short smile. He still isn't quite tall enough to see through the peephole and has to stand on his tiptoes.

Neal watches from the table, smiling until Henry turns around with a confused gaze. "It's a kid," he says and Emma stands, walking over to the door and double checking to see. Using her better judgment, she opens the door wide, looking at the child in front of her.

The girl's curly brown hair is in knots, her backpack hanging from one shoulder and her sweatshirt sleeves covering her hands. Still, she looks up at Emma and manages to smile at her. "Hi," she greets, putting her hand out for her to shake.

Emma doesn't return it. "Who are you?" the suspicion in her voice causes the girl to back down, her confidence visibly wearing.

"My name's Bella," there's a second that Emma thinks that she'll either run or vomit before she starts talking again. "I'm your daughter."

Neal comes up behind her at the door, looking at the girl and then back to Emma. "We don't have a daughter. Do we have a daughter? We don't have a daughter, right?" he asks as Emma lets her in.

"Neal…" she mumbles, walking into the kitchen.

He's fuming. He's in shock. He can't decide whether he's more so fuming or in shock. "Are you serious?" there's a rasp to his voice that makes it so very hard to tell whether he's going to cry or scream.

She's making hot cocoa. It's an effort to hide that she's somewhere between terrified and heartbroken. "I didn't _forget_ to tell you, okay? I thought she was adopted. I went looking for her, too, and it said she had been in the same place for a few years," she whispered, handing him a mug.

He tries to think of another reason to be mad. He can't. "Yeah, well- you should've told me, Emma!" he whisper-shouts.

She looks over at the girl and nods. "I know," she stops and turns away from the mug on the counter. "Let's try to focus on the fact that she's here right now, okay?" she walks around the counter and over to the table where Henry and their daughte- Bella, sit.

Both of them get a hot cocoa. Bella takes hers gladly, smiling and happy and _clearly_ \- hopefully- not as ruined as Emma was by the time she was her age. "Thank you," she smiles and takes a sip of it right off the bat.

The look on her face when she tastes the cinnamon is priceless. "What is _that?_ " she asks in absolute disgust, managing to continue to pull the face that she's making the entire time.

Neal laughs out loud, going to the kitchen to get her some water. Clearly, she shared her grandfather's absolute _love_ for cinnamon.

* * *

"What do you wanna do with her?" he asks, looking up at Emma. Bella and Henry had long since fallen asleep- Disney movie marathons always wore him out- and they were laying on the couch, their feet in each other's faces.

She looks up at him. "What do you mean?" Clearly the idea that she was theirs now, that they _had_ to take her in, had flown over his head.

He shrugs, looking over at their kids on the couch. "We can't just assume that she's not supposed to be in another place right now. Do we have to adopt her, or do we just wait until someone comes looking for her?"

Emma sighs, rubbing her hand over her eye. "Can't we just follow the 'Storybrooke laws'? Never do anything legal and nobody has a problem with it?" He laughs, wincing as Henry starts to stir in his sleep.

"Dude, whatever floats the boat," he reaches out and takes her hand, playing with the shoelace on her wrist.

She glances up at him, her best 'seriously' look on display. "It's 'whatever floats _your_ boat, Neal," she corrects.

He shakes his head. "No, but we share the boat. It's co-owned," he mumbles, untying the lace on her wrist and re-tying it over and over again.

She laughs a little bit. "Okay. We share the boat," she takes his hand.

They hear a rustle and freeze, turning to face the couch. Bella sits upright, watching them. "I'm glad that you two share a boat, but can I grab a cup of water?"

Neal chuckles, standing to go and get it. She stops him before he's pushed his chair out all the way. "No, I can do it, I wanted to make sure it was okay," she pushed her side of the blankets off and pulled her legs back to be sure not to kick Henry in the face.

Emma smiles as he sits back down and takes her hand back. "So, Bella, we have a spare room, if you wanted to stay," she freezes, water still running into the cup at the sink. "Don't drown the dishes, please," she chuckles.

She quickly turns the sink off, smiling at her. "Really?" the hope in her eyes melts Emma's heart.

"Really. There's nothing in there right now, but we can take you into town this weekend and get you some furniture and paint."

She puts her cup of water down and walks around the counter, going to hug them. "Thank you," she mumbles into Neal's shoulder and he can tell that she's about to cry.

He squeezes her extra tight. She makes a strangled noise and laughs. "It's no problem, kiddo," he smiles at Emma over her shoulder and let's go of Bella to squeeze her hand.

She leans back, looking at both of her parents. "I like you guys. I'm gonna go back to bed now," and she walks off to go and lay with her brother again.

"Hey, Bella," Neal calls, squeezing Emma's hand. She turns around, stopping to look at them. "We love you."

She doesn't say it back. She just smiles and looks down, a blush creeping up on her. "Goodnight, guys."

He chuckles, looking over at her as she pulls the blanket back over herself. "Goodnight, kid."

* * *

 **So, as you can probably tell, Bella's already a bit of a daddy's girl. I feel like Henry was closer to Emma (except for that time that he was mad at her in season 2.) so I wanted to make this character a little bit closer to Neal from the start. Thank you for reading!**


	85. This Time, With Help

**This one was requested by Swanbeliever, again, a very long time ago. I'm trying to knock these old requests out right now, but if you guys would like to leave more, that would be awesome! Let me know if you have an idea, or something you'd like to see more of in this story! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Not again," she squeezes her eyes closed, leaning against the wall of the bathroom. "Please, please, don't let this happen again," she's digging her nails into her wrist to just feel _something_ over the tingling numbness going through her.

The timer on her phone goes off. She's up in an instant- the last thing she needs is for it to wake Henry up and have him come asking what she's doing. It takes her a second to work up the courage to flip the test over.

Two pink lines.

 _Crap._

She throws it at the shower wall. Tears are falling and she's making sounds that she didn't know she even _could_ make while she's trying to stay quiet and wake up the child that she already does have.

She can't get rid of it. He would never forgive her. She would never forgive _herself._ But there's something in her gut telling her to do that and she'll never have to do this again because he's _gone._

She thinks back to the last time this happened. The first time when she didn't know anything about what she was doing and she gave up- and then she thinks about this time when she doesn't know anything about what's happening and she has no real reason to give up.

She's just scared. She's _terrified,_ actually. Her hands are shaking and her legs are, too, so much that she's already fallen and just sits on the ground because she knows that she'll fall again if she tries to get up.

There's a lump in her throat and she can't tell if it's because she has to throw up or if she has to cry. She knew it. She knew that going back with him that night was a bad idea- a _terrible one,_ at that, but she did it anyway because he kept _leaving_ her and she had to have that one last time.

One last time before Belle called her and told what he had done to save her and Henry and then he died in the middle of the woods in her arms and they had a _funeral_ and he isn't coming back.

He's not coming back.

The lump is because both, she determines as she moves over to the toilet without standing up and just in time, thank god.

She finishes puking and then breaks down sobbing because _dear god, this sucks._

Her head goes against the wall and she sees into the bathtub where the test fell and she can calm herself down enough to reach for it. She stares at it.

A kid. She's having another kid. Henry's getting a little sibling. Neal's getting a baby.

Neal can't be here for the baby. Neal _has_ to be there for the baby. She can barely imagine him not being there for this. He's not going to be there for this.

She closes her eyes, putting her head against the wall. _Why do you have to keep doing this to me?_

She hears a thump outside and her eyes blow wide open. If her son could just learn not to drink anything before bed, they wouldn't be having this issue.

She can hear the footsteps coming towards the door as she scrambles about, trying to decide what to do. She can't very well just throw it out, he'd surely see it. "Mom? M _om?_ I have to go to the bathroom," she stands, straightening out her shirt and going to get the door.

"Go ahead, kid," she lets him in, walking out and hearing the door lock behind him before realizing what she'd forgotten in the bathroom. Oh, _crap._

The toilet flushes and the sink turns on and about thirty seconds later her son is standing in front of her, holding a plastic test that she'd left on the floor.

She's perched on the edge of the bed, legs crossed and her hands in her lap as she watches him come forwards, looking at her with his father's eyes and making her want to run away and cry. "Mom?" he walks forwards slowly, showing the test to her. "Is this what I think it is?"

She looks down at her hands, glancing up at him every so often. "What do you think it is?" she asks, on the off chance that he's wrong and thinks it's something else.

"A pregnancy test? A _positive_ one?" her stomach crawls up into her chest and for a second she thinks she might throw up.

She swallows, looking up at him. "You're not wrong," she chuckles nervously and he puts it down on the desk, reaching out to her.

She wraps her arms around him as tight as she can and he lets out a noise that says, 'hey, let go of me,'.

He leans back first, staring into her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" there's hurt in his voice and she _has_ to fix it or else…

"I just found out," his eyes go wide and she wipes her nose on her sleeve. He runs off, into the bathroom somewhere, and then he comes back carrying a tissue box.

He sighs heavily, gasping a bit at the same time. "So, dad didn't know?" she shakes her head and he looks like he might cry. "That's not good," he swallows thickly and she reaches out to pull him into her arms.

"No, kid, it's not," his arms go around her waist and she wants to cry because now he's sobbing into her shoulder.

It takes a while for her to know what to say. "Hey, look at me," she takes his shoulder, gently pushing him back so she can see his face. "I think we'll be okay, kid," he swipes at his eyes with his sleeves, leaving red marks. "We have each other, and your grandparents… they can help. I bet you could run off to your grandpa's house if it gets to be too much."

He shakes his head, putting his hands on her shoulders. "What about you?" she chuckles. Worrying about her must just be in the genes. "Aren't you scared?"

She looks down, thinking about what to say. _You can't lie to him. You promised._ "I'm terrified," she chuckles, taking his hands. "But, I did it with you- this is gonna be so much easier, kid."

He visibly recoils, his eyes darkening. "Because," she reaches out and takes his hands, pulling him back to her. "This time, I have a little helper with me," she pulls him into her arms, his head going to her shoulder.

"I'm not little."

"Oh, I _know,_ kid. I know," she leans back and cups his cheeks in her hands. "I miss when you were, though." There are tears in her eyes and all he wants is to take them away.

He smiles at her, leaning his forehead on hers. "I love you, Mom," he rubs the back of her neck. "We'll be okay."

"I love you, too, kid."


	86. Something Just Like This

**Woah, guys! Next chapter will be chapter 100! I can't believe we've gotten this far! Please let me know what you think it should be about! I would love some ideas!**

He's been waiting for an hour and fifteen minutes.

He shouldn't still be waiting. He should be going and taking care of this for himself instead of sitting and saying 'just five more minutes' to convince himself that maybe she's on her way.

He'd given her the option for a reason, because how terrible would he feel if she came because she felt like she had to and was miserable the entire time?

Part of him wants to call her, just to get some form of closure, cause _damn this hurts._ But, she never got that, so why should he?

It takes him fifteen minutes of internal negotiation to ask for the check, and then another five to find it in him to put the money on the tray. He's not sure if he'll be able to force himself out of the booth.

He does. There are weights pulling on his feet with every step, but he finds his way out of the diner.

And there she is.

He feels like he might throw up- _what did he just do?-_ as he looks into her eyes and he can see the disappointment and the hurt hiding behind the fake smile.

"Oh, I'm- uh, sorry. I'm late, there was a thing, and- yeah," she mumbles, looking down and closing her eyes. "Do you want me to leave? I'll leave. I'll just- yeah, I'll go," she whispers, turning around reluctantly and getting ready to go back the way she came.

Without realizing it, he finds himself reaching out to take her hand- to stop her- because he knows with everything in him that he's hurting her so _badly_ with this, even if it was a half our past the usual 'lunch time'.

She turns around and he can see the tears starting to build up- there is nothing in the world he wants more than to take her into his arms and never let himself hurt her again, but he knows he can't; it would be crossing too many lines.

"I was early," he takes his hand off of her wrist, "You were late, but I was early, and we managed to be here at the same time," he looks down at the ground, avoiding her gaze. "That's fate, right there," she chuckles and wipes some tears that are starting to break free.

She shakes her head, looking up at him. "I was really late," she looks away from him, playing with the shoelace on her wrist. "I can go," her eyes are closed, not wanting to see his reaction.

He's starting to build up some tears, too, and he shakes his head. "Nah, it's fine," his voice comes out surprisingly clear, given the circumstances. "We're both here at the same time, and I may not be sitting in that booth, but I'm starving," he chuckles, reaching out for her to take his hand.

For a second he's afraid she'll either run or break down sobbing, but she doesn't. She takes it.

"Me, too," he laughs out loud, squeezing her hand and leading her inside the diner.


	87. We Take Care of Each Other

**Hi! So, I decided not to do anything too special for this chapter because I couldn't come up with anything different, so I just wrote something a little bit longer. The past few one-shots have been some of my shortest ones and I thought I'd post something a little longer. Enjoy!**

"Hey, Em!" Neal lets himself in, having received a text from Snow earlier that she'd left the door unlocked in case he wanted to stop by that morning. He hangs his coat up and puts his keys on the counter before going to grab a spoon and running upstairs.

He knocks on the door to her room before letting himself in. "Hey," he mumbles, going to sit beside her. "I brought you some soup, it's from Granny," he makes sure to talk in a whisper, not wanting to give her a worse headache than she has.

She sits up slowly, with some assistance. "Thanks," her voice is raspy and quiet and he winces right as she does.

"Are you feeling any better?" he hands her the container of soup and she smiles as it warms her hands.

She nods, "My throat still hurts, and I have a killer headache, but I'll take that over puking," she swallows a spoonful of soup before looking up at him, "you don't have to work today?"

He shakes his head, leaning back in the chair that he'd pulled over to the bed. "I went in this morning to help your dad out with the paperwork, but he said he'd cover it for the rest of the day. I didn't want you to be at home all day by yourself again if you have been all week."

She grins, "I think you just missed me."

He chuckles, nodding and looking down, "That, too," he chuckles, "It's not any fun without your constant complaining."

She gives him a look and he knows that if she had the energy she'd reach over and punch his arm, "Well, I'd pretty much rather be doing _anything_ than laying here all day," she complains.

He raises his eyebrows, "Even paperwork?"

She nods, sniffling a little bit, "Even paperwork." he looks at her sadly, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

She smiles at him, looking down at the blanket. "Well, hopefully you'll feel better soon and you'll be able to come back," he suggests and she nods, taking another spoonful of soup.

She waits until she swallows before she shrugs. "I think so. It's just odd because I don't feel that _bad_ right now, you know? Like, if I hadn't been sick earlier and if I didn't feel like I haven't sleep in ages, I would be there," she shakes her head and sighs, taking another bite of soup.

He tilts his head to the side and bites his lip. "I- uh, Em, I think just having the headache and sore throat is being pretty sick, but being dead out of energy, too? I think you're right to stay home for a bit longer," she shakes her head, looking down.

There's a few moments of silence and she shrugs, "But I'm bored," she pauses, "and I miss you," she mumbles, looking to see his reaction.

He smiles his sad, sad smile and takes her hand. "I know, I miss you, too," he watches as she smiles and lets out a soft chuckle. "But you need to get better," she frowns, looking down at the blankets again, "I'll come see you, if you want," he suggests.

Her head snaps up and she smiles extra wide. "Really?"

He nods, squeezing her hand, "Of course, really! I'll come by every day, if you want," he promises and she smiles as wide as she can at that moment.

"I'd like that," she reaches out for him, this time, waiting for him to take her hand. "Maybe one day we could even go downstairs," she chuckles.

He rolls his eyes and smiles at her, reaching over to smack (more like brush his hand against) her shoulder. "Eat your soup," she sighs and takes her hand back.

After having finished as much as she thought she'd be able to keep down, he runs downstairs to put the container in the fridge, and then goes right back upstairs.

It's then when he notices the state that she's in, with her hair unbrushed, probably in clothes she's been wearing since she first got sick, and the red circles around her eyes. "You wanna shower? I can help," he offers.

She hesitates, looking down at the blanket. "I'm not exactly in walking condition right now, Neal," she jokes and he shrugs, walking up next to the bed.

"We can go slow. I can carry you, if you need me to," he suggests and she shakes her head, but doesn't move to get up. "I swear to god, I won't do anything to help if you don't want me to, I just thought maybe you could use it," he suggest.

She nods, still avoiding eye contact. "No, I know. I just- I'm a mess, right now, I don't really know if I can stay upright long enough to wash my hair, and-" he cuts her off.

"If you're having problems standing, we can bring a chair in there, or you could take a bath, or I could help you," he lists.

She nods, looking down at the ground. "Okay, we can try," she whispers, still unsure, but a bit more confident.

He walks over and sits beside her. "If you don't want to, you do not _have to_ , Em. Look at me," he tilts his head to the side to make eye contact with her. "You don't have to."

She furrows her eyebrows, shaking her head. "I'm just afraid I'll fall and get hurt," she mumbles.

He nods and reaches out to take her hands, "If you feel like you're going to fall, you call me and I'll catch you, okay?" she nods and pulls the blanket back, about to try to get up. "Wait, wait. I'll get your clothes for you, just tell me what you wanna wear," he tells her, walking over to the dresser.

She nods, her eyebrows going down in confusion. "Um- well, there's a grey, fuzzy sweater in there- you'll know it when you see it, it's _really_ fuzzy," she describes and he smiles, pulling a shirt out. "That one, yeah," she mumbles, starting to feel a bit loopy. "And then, leggings are in the bottom drawer, and everything else is in the second one."

He nods, grabbing everything else out before walking over to the bathroom to put the clothes on the counter before coming back to help her up. "Okay, you got it?" he asks, holding both of her hands as she stands up, trying to steady herself, but starting to fall.

He reaches over, grabbing her under the arms and standing her up, "Okay, just hold onto my shoulders," she nods and reaches her hands up, holding herself still. "Awesome! Okay, let's just go slowly, 'kay? We don't have to rush," he whispers, starting to step back as she goes forwards.

In seconds, he's tripped three times and she's laughing at him, trying to stay upright as she does so. He reaches down and puts his hands on her waist, trying to help her stay steady. "Okay, I can't see where I'm going, so, I'll be your balance, but you've gotta be my eyes," he states and she nods, looking over his shoulder.

They make it to the bathroom, only tripping a few times each, and he turns on the water, helping her get undressed and into the shower as best he can with his eyes closed, as per their agreement.

Minutes go by and they're only talking a bit, Emma trying to focus on staying upright and washing her hair more than conversing. There's a few moments of silence before Neal hears her call his name. "Yeah?"

"I'm gonna fall," he moves forward as fast as he can and helps her steady herself before she's able to land on the ground.

He sighs, holding onto her waist with one hand and putting his hand against his forehead in relief. "Are you almost done washing your hair?" he asks and she nods, but his eyes are _closed_ and he can't see it. "Emma?" he prods.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm done," he reaches over and feels for the handle to turn the water off before grabbing a towel. He holds it, his arms outstretched and she chuckles lightly before stepping into them, allowing him to wrap her up in it.

It takes her a while to dry off by just standing, but after a while it's enough and he stands, letting her hold onto his shoulders to balance and waiting to catch her if she starts to fall. She doesn't turn out to need it, but the second he opens the bathroom door, it's flooded with cold air and she starts visibly shaking.

He reaches out, suggesting that he helps her walk out like last time, and she takes his hands, accepting the challenge. After a few seconds of trying to walk while dizzy enough as it is, but also shivering, she straight up starts to collapse.

"Okay, I know. I know that you're stubborn as all get out, and I know that this sucks for you _way_ more than you're gonna let on, but you can't walk and I _have to_ carry you," he explains, catching her on her way down and putting his arm under her legs to carry her the rest of the way.

They make it to the bed and once they get there, she sighs in frustration. "What?" he asks, setting her down.

"I don't _like_ this. I want to go back to work and I want to feel better," she mumbles, her chin wavering and he sits on the side of the bed right next to her, reaching forwards to hug her.

He runs his fingers through her hair, brushing it out gently. "I know you do, and you will soon, but for now you need rest."

She nods, putting her face against his neck. "I know. I will," she leans back and wipes her eyes so that they're free of tears. "Can you help me wash the sheets later? I don't like how they feel after I've been sick," she tries to stay quiet, her throat beginning to throb.

He nods and stands, helping her to lay back down. He sits on the side of the bed, her hand in his as she starts to fall back asleep.

A few minutes after he sees that she's already asleep, he sees that she's starting to shiver again. He stands, slipping his hand out of hers as he goes to look for another blanket. He opens the closet, finding one on the top shelf.

He's reaching to get it when he hears her shuffling around in the bed. He mutters a curse as he hears her whimper his name. "I'm right here, Em, I'm just getting another blanket for you. Just give me a second," he manages to get the blanket down without knocking everything else off of the shelves.

He unfolds it and shakes it out before spreading it out over her. "Okay," he pulls it up under her chin, making sure that nothing but her face is poking out of it. He pulls the chair up closer to her head, sitting down in it. "I'm right here, you're okay, just go back to sleep," he whispers, brushing her hair back behind her ears, since her hands are covered up.

She wakes up again about three hours later, and while she's still not feeling 100%, she can stand for long enough that he can strip the bed of all of the sheets and carry them to the washing machine before he has to come back to catch her, which is quite the improvement.


	88. I'll Keep You Warm

**Hello, hello, helloooo! This is my latest update for you guys. I'm still working on all of the requests I've gotten, but there's so many! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!**

"So, you left?" she asks him, looking away from the pavement to see his face as he responds.

He nods, taking a sip of his long cold coffee, "Yeah, I did," he confirms, checking to see how she'd react- what she'd have to say to that.

Her expression is unreadable- he hadn't known many people who could do that; mask how they were feeling, but she's got it down to a science- "I left a few times, actually. But the last time, he was supposed to come with me. He even made a promise. But later on, something happened and I couldn't really go back."

She takes a breath, looking down at the sidewalk once again. "Why don't you go back now, then? Try and see it'd work out now…" she trails off and he shrugs, looking up at her.

"I'm not sure that he's still there," he mumbles. She looks down at the ground, a hint of disappointment in her eyes- something readable, _finally._ "What?" he asks, trying to get something out of her, trying to get her to open up.

She shakes her head, looking down at the ground. "Just- I just don't understand," she sighs, picking her head back up. "If you have a home with your parents- who _love_ you- I don't get why you'd leave. Even if they choose something else over you, at least you've got a home, right?" he can tell that she's confused, now- maybe even angry- but he likes this girl. He doesn't want to run.

He nods, tilting his head to the side and going to sit on the bench on the sidewalk in front of his parked car. "It was too much, to be there with him. He'd go and do these _horrible-_ and I mean _horrible_ things, and he'd tell me it was to protect me- to defend my honor, and stuff. I just don't think it's better. Do I miss him? Yeah. Do I wanna go back? Maybe a little bit. But am I willing to hurt myself like that again? No way," he tries to explain in a way she can understand, but maybe she just _can't._

She did grow up in the homes of people who weren't her parents, after all. Maybe all she could understand was that once you had that, you shouldn't leave it. Maybe she didn't understand what it would be like to grow up with parents that were yours and weren't there for you to have them.

She shrugs, looking down again. "I guess I just can't get it," she mumbles and he nods, looking away from her. He'd known her for a few hours at most and had already pissed her off. Wonderful.

* * *

He wakes up that night to tossing and turning in the backseat of the bug. It goes on for what feels like forever until he's had enough.

"Emma?" he calls, sitting up and turning around to face the backseat. He sees her sit up and shove her glasses onto her face. "You okay?"

She nods, looking down. He tilts his head to the side, turning around to turn on the overhead light. "You just- um- seem like you're not," he suggests, turning back to face her.

She shrugs, looking down at the ground. "Just stuck in my head, I guess," she mumbles, picking at the pilling on the blanket he'd given her.

He nods, moving to sit on the center console. He's determined to figure this girl out- even if she's not willing to tell him. "Wanna talk about it?"

She raises an eyebrow at him, looking at his stance in between the seats. "Isn't that a bad idea? This car is ready to collapse as it is," she asks, clearly avoiding the topic.

He nods, looking at the seats. "It most definitely is," he chuckles, looking across the car at her. "So, what's on your mind?" he asks quietly, trying not to intimidate her more than he already might've.

She looks down at the blanket again. "I just- sometimes I miss my parents, I guess," she sighs, "and I know it's stupid, 'cause I've never even met them, but… I still do," he shakes his head, climbing off the center console and going to sit down next to her.

"It's not stupid," he reassures, arranging himself so that he's leaning against the window, facing her.

She looks up at him, glaring at him pointedly, "You've met your parents, you have a right to miss them. Of course, it's not stupid to you."

He shakes his head, picking at the cuff of his sleeve. "I don't, really. Have a right to miss them, I mean. I don't," she starts to open her mouth, probably to ask him why, but he keeps going. "I'm the one who left him. Even if he was supposed to come with me, I-"

"Wait, so he was supposed to come with you, and he chose not to? That's not _you_ leaving _him,_ that's him leaving _you_ , Neal. That's abandonment," she tells him, and he's quiet for a minute. "He left you," she whispers, realizing what he's been doing. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asks, reaching over and taking his hand.

He's surprised by the gesture at first, and he squeezes her hand back. "I sorta did," he chuckles, but she shakes her head.

"Not _really,_ you told me that he was supposed to come with you and then _something happened,_ and you ended up alone," she recalls, and he shrugs, looking at her blanket. "Here, we can share it, it's freezing," she moves closer to him, putting part of the blanket on his lap, too.

"Thanks," he mumbles, helping flatten it out. "I think maybe I underestimated you," he chuckles, and she tilts her head, chuckling along with him.

"What do you mean?"

He starts picking at the blanket, too. He's never done that before, he's always tried to let it ruin _itself,_ but he figures that if she's already doing it, it'll have unraveled by the weekend.

"Well," he starts, "you don't really give off an 'i'm gonna share this blanket with you' vibe, Emma," he explains, and she laughs, looking down and pushing her glasses back up on her face.

She smiles, looking at the ground. "I try not to," he raises his eyebrows, not expecting her to have shared that with him, "people tend to take advantage of those people," she explains and he nods, tilting his head to the side.

"And I'm not going to?" he chuckles, pulling off another chunk of fabric from the blanket.

She laughs, looking straight up at him, "Oh, dude, you're also one of those people."


	89. My Heart is Near

Emma got a call while she was in the woods. David had told her to go and she'd had no problem with listening to him. In fact, she'd driven like the devil to get back to the hospital, practically flooring the gas the entire way back.

Now, she's watching as Whale comes out of the room that he was in. "How is he? Is he okay?" she asks, standing to meet him.

He nods, avoiding eye contact with her. "He's stable. We're not sure what caused it, but this gives us a reason to pester radiology, so hopefully we'll have his lab results soon," he tells her, waving her over to follow him. "He was asking for you when he woke up."

She smiles sadly, keeping quiet as she follows him. "He's just tired, kind of out of it," he tells her, opening the door for her and letting her go inside on her own.

Neal's eyes meet hers. She walks over to the bed, sitting beside him and taking his hand. "Are you okay?"

He nods, his eyes droopy and tired. "You came," he mumbles, squeezing her hand.

"Of course I came," she whispers, scooting closer to him and putting her hand on the side of his face.

He sits up and wraps his arms around her. "I'm kinda scared, Em," he whispers, his breath shaking.

"Don't be," she whispers, "you're gonna be okay." Her hand is on the back of his head and his face is pressed into her neck like he's seeking shelter and for a second she thinks back to when they were kids and he'd take full-on naps on her like this in the backseat of her car.

She closes her eyes tight. Everything is the same, and yet, everything is completely different. "I love you," she mumbles, combing through his hair with her fingers.

"I love you, too," he mumbles, relaxing and practically tipping her over with his entire body weight against her.

She chuckles, sitting up stronger. "Okay, let's switch places, please," she laughs and he sits up slowly, moving over so that she could go to sit at the head of the bed. He smiles, laying down and turning over to hide his face in her neck again.

"Thank you," he mumbles and she smiles, ruffling up his hair.

"It's no problem. You try to sleep, I'll wake you up when he comes back with your results."


	90. Dancing in a Downpour

Neal's ready, arms open and standing tall, waiting for David to pass Emma off to him. She's paler than he's ever seen her, her lips are blue, and she looks like she's about ready to pass out- but she's still alive.

He reaches out, grabbing onto her waist to help her stand, and pulling her up to him. She shivers against him, holding onto him as tight as she can- which is fairly loose, if he was being honest.

He breathes against her neck and she lets out a whimper. He turns his head, paying more attention to that than holding her up. Her knees lock. He can feel her starting to fall and he tightens his grip around her waist. "You okay?" it's somewhat useless; he knows she's not.

She nods, holding onto him, but he can feel her hands slipping on his neck. He reaches down and picks her up, walking slowly as he carries her over to the car, trying not to jostle her around too much.

It takes them getting to the car for him to notice the tears in her eyes, and more importantly, the cut on her forehead that's more than likely to scar. He holds her for a minute, waiting for David to come by and help him open the door, before he slides her into the car.

She clings to him like her life depends on it (and in her delirious and emotional state, she probably thinks it does), and he has to convince her that it'll only be a minute before she sees him again as he tugs off his coat and puts it around her shoulders. "Please stay," she whimpers, stuttering over letters until she can get the sentence out.

He shakes his head, pulling her hand back from it's grip on his shirt. "I'll be right back," he insists, pulling the jacket back up and around her. "I promise, I'll be right back," he then stands back up, checking to make sure her fingers aren't in the way, before slamming the door closed and running around the back of the car.

He hears David trying to talk to him, but he's too caught up trying to get back to Emma to care. As soon as he gets the door open, he's in the car. "See, I told you, I'm here now," he tells her and she nods, trying to move to put her head down. He stops her shoulder as she gets closer and he moves over to her, sitting in the middle seat.

"You can put your head down, but you can't sleep, okay? Not until we get you warmed up," he whispers, pulling her to him. She's cold to the touch, but she immediately turns herself to get closer to him. He gently picks her up and puts her on his lap.

He puts his hand on her head, holding it to his shoulder as she starts to squirm around, trying to avoid the heat from the overhead fans. "It's okay, you'll be okay," he shifts her a bit in order to reach into his pocket and grab his phone to call Henry.

He picks up on the first ring and Neal has never been happier to have such an attentive child. "Hey, Dad, what's-"

Neal cuts him off mid-sentence. "Hey, Henry, bud? I need you to get out all of the blankets you can find, okay? And I need you to search how to treat hypothermia," he hears a gasp on the other line. "We're on our way home, okay, I just need you to do those things for me."

After Henry promises that he'll do so, he hangs up to take care of Emma, who's moving around so much on his lap that you'd think that he's burning her. "Em, please, _please,_ just stop, okay? You're okay, we're going home, I just need you to calm yourself down," he puts his hand against her head again and he hold her to him, not giving her room to move around.

They pull up to the apartment and he opens the door, adjusting her in his arms and walking her into the building. David moves the coffee table and Neal walks over sitting Emma down and going to grab some of the blankets on the armchair in front of them. "Neal," he looks up at the sound of his name. "Go sit with her, me and Henry can get the blankets," he pauses, then walks over to the couch, sitting beside Emma and putting the blanket on her.

It's then, now that they don't have to worry about getting her home, he realizes how wet her clothes are. At that moment, Snow comes running through the door. "Is she okay? What can I do?" she asks, going and setting little Leo down in his crib.

David and Henry both turn to her, thinking, while Neal calls, "She needs dry clothes. Warm ones, too," and Snow is up the stairs before anyone has a chance to respond. Emma releases a quiet cry and Neal pulls her against him, "It's okay. You're safe," he whispers, holding her in a tight grip.

He looks up at David and Henry, who have both grabbed blankets and started piling them on her. He covers her ears with his hands as David walks over to put another blanket on her lap. "She needs to be in the hospital, man," he whispers, being overly cautious as not to scare Henry.

David looks down at his daughter, who's so cold that she's not shivering in Neal's arms, and he nods, looking down at him. "I'll go with Henry and start the truck, you have Snow put those clothes in a bag, okay?" he asks, not waiting for a reply as he grabs Henry's shoulder and leaves the loft with him.

Not a minute later, Snow comes running down the steps, only to find her husband and grandson gone. "Oh! Where's Henry and David?" she asks, walking over with some fluffy pajamas that are so, _so_ not Emma-like.

With his hand still over Emma's ear, he whispers, "Starting the truck, we're taking her to the ER. Can you bag those?" he asks, swinging Emma's legs over his lap and getting ready to pick her up.

Her eyes widen and she nods, walking into the kitchen to grab a plastic grocery bag. "I'll be there as soon as I can, I just have to find a sitter for Leo," she explains, shoving the clothes in a band and stringing it on Neal's held-out arm.

He nods, tightening his grip on Emma as her arms loosen around his neck. "I'll let David know. Belle might be up for it, if you call," he suggests, walking towards the door, letting Snow open it for him. "We'll call with updates," he walks out the door, looking to Snow and she nods, walking up to him and giving Emma a kiss on the forehead.

She's barely responsive enough to notice, let alone care, but she tries to smile. "Feel better, baby," she squeezes Emma's arm before taking a deep breath and stepping back. "See you soon," she calls, closing the door.

* * *

At the hospital, Whale gets Emma onto a gurney and wheels her back, not giving Henry a chance to follow, or even really say goodbye. Neal reaches over, pulling his son into a hug. "She'll be okay, buddy. She's a tough one," he brushes his hair back with his fingers.

Henry nods, pressing his face into Neal's chest. "I know," he chokes, squeezing his arms around his dad.

It takes about a half hour for them to get any news, and when they do, it's that Neal needs to follow Whale into the back, where they're keeping Emma. "We're going to try supplying body heat. With the state that she's in now, it's our best option. You just have to take off your shoes and help her lay close to you. You'll want to hold her as close as you can, it'll provide for a larger surface area, therefore, a faster recovery," they approach the door and Neal's nerves start increasing by quite a bit.

"Call me when she starts shivering. It's a key point in the warming up process and when we'll be able to detect nerve damage." _Nerve damage?_ Neal's mind explodes, not having necessarily realized the severity of this situation. Whale holds the door open, letting Neal go up to the bed and take off his shoes.

He sits on the bed beside her and Whale interrupts him. "If you're wearing a thick shirt or multiple layers, you might have Snow bring a thinner one or take it off, it'll help this go faster," he offers, before closing the door behind him and leaving Neal to fend for himself.

His sweater is quite thick and he wonders for a second how upset Emma will be when she wakes up to _this,_ but then he figures, _hey, at least it's better than being dead,_ and pulls it over his head. He yanks the blankets back, laying beside her and pulling the blanket over them before gently easing her towards him. She whines a bit, but sighs quietly as she relaxes.

David and Henry come in a bit later, questioning to no end why Neal is laying with Emma, and furthermore, why he's not wearing a shirt. He carefully and quietly explains the situation and proceeds to _beg_ David to have Snow bring him a better shirt. David is in no place to protest.

Within the next hour, Snow gets there, Neal is given a new shirt which he can't put on until Emma wakes up, and most importantly, Neal feels Emma starting to shake against him. It takes him a minute to realize that's what's happening, and he asks David to call Whale.

He comes into the room and checks her vitals. "Just keep holding her. She should wake up soon, call me again when she does," he makes a few notes on her chart before he leaves. Neal mentally prepares for the worst of it; her waking up and being in pain or feeling sick, or being delusional and not remembering who any of them are, or even just being pissed that they're in this state- in the hospital bed together.

He waits, trying not to let his nerves show, until Emma wakes up. "Hey," he whispers, putting his hand on her back, letting her pick her head up. "You okay?" he picks his head up to look at her.

She nods, looking up at him and rubbing her eye. "What happened?" she mumbles, still stuttering a little bit, but not nearly as badly as before.

"You don't remember?" he shakes his head, squinting a bit.

She puts her head back down, cuddling up against him when she realizes how warm she is. "I remember why I'm here. Why are you- what's going on?" she looks up at him and he chuckles. _She's okay._ "Why are you laughing at me?" she pouts, picking her head up and looking at him.

He laughs a little harder, putting his hand on her head and gently pulling her back down to him. "I love you," he mumbles, kissing her forehead. "Whale said body heat was the fastest way to heat you up, so he did that and I think those are warmed fluids in the IV," she immediately picks her head up to look at the needle in her arm and drops herself back down to his chest.

Snow moves closer to the bed, taking her needle-less hand. "Speaking of which-" she starts and David stands, going to find Dr. Whale. "Hey, baby," she looks at Emma, who had just rolled over to face her mom, her head still resting on Neal's chest and her back now pressed against his side, "How you doing?"

Emma smiles, squeezing her mom's hand. "Tired. Still cold," and she wasn't wrong. Both Neal and Snow could feel the cold on her skin, how she still felt like ice. Neal, upon hearing that, turns onto his side and wraps her up in his arms. "Warmer, now," she smiles.

Snow chuckles a little bit, kissing her on the head before standing and turning to grab the bag with her clothes in it. "I brought you some clothes, you can put them on if the doctor says it's okay," she sits, putting the bag in her lap.

Neal snuggles into her shoulder, turning his head to whisper in her ear. "You scared the crap out of all of us," he squeezes her extra tight, kissing her temple.

She closes her eyes, leaning back against him. "I'm sorry," and she feels Snow take her hand back, holding it in both of hers.

"We're glad you're okay, honey," she stands up and moves forwards, bending over to kiss Emma's forehead.

She opens her eyes, looking up at Snow and squeezing her hand back. "Thank you. Me, too," she curls herself up more, leaning into Neal's chest. "Love you, guys," she mumbles, clearly vaguely embarrassed about this whole thing.

They both voice their 'I love you's back to her, and for the rest of the night, they sleep, hoping that nothing like what happened that day would ever happen again.


	91. Don't You Worry

They'd just gotten Henry to sleep in his own bed.

A brand new bed that he got a few months ago, and he was _in love with it._ It's a bright red racecar, one that he had named _Lightning McQueen_ before he even got a chance to test it out at the store.

The first few nights, he was hesitant to be in his own room by himself, but after Neal pinky-promised _twice_ that he'd stay with Henry until he fell asleep, he started to warm up to the idea. Having his parent's dreamcatcher right above his bed helped, too.

For a few weeks, they were able to get him to sleep in his bed. There was always some hesitation, mostly because he 'wasn't tired', but he always stayed the _whole_ night.

Now, he's starting to fall back. For the past two weeks, every night at varying hours, he'd run into his parents' bedroom and he'd _beg_ to be let into their bed until they almost had to give in.

One night, Emma questions him as he gets into the bed, assisted by Neal. "Why can't you stay in your own bed, kid?" he climbed across the bed into her lap. "Do you have bad dreams?"

He nods, his little body twisting so he could reach his arms around Emma's neck. "There's a monster that comes and takes me away in my dream if I don't come and find you," he whispers, putting his head down on her shoulder, breathing into her neck.

She looks to Neal, who looks down at the blankets before moving out further on the bed and going to sit in front of Henry. "Buddy, the monster isn't real," he promises, putting his hand on his back.

Henry shakes his head, burying his face in Emma's neck. "Then why'd it take me away? If it's not real it can't take me away," he whispers, his grip tightening around Emma.

Neal looks to Emma, his eyes pleading her to _help,_ to offer him some way to take away Henry's nightmares. He's pulled out of his thoughts by Henry starting to cry, his whole little body shaking as he practically tries to dissolve himself into Emma's chest.

Neal reaches over, seeing that he's starting to make it too hard for Emma to breathe. "Oh, buddy," he grunts, pulling Henry's flailing body off of Emma.

It takes a minute to do it, but he manages to free Emma from Henry's grasp. Unfortunately, the minute he does, Henry starts fighting Neal, his little fists delivering blows to his chest by the second. "Henry, buddy," he calls, trying to reach out to grab him.

It doesn't do much good, as he continues to thrash about, crying and screaming. "Henry, baby," Emma tries, reaching forwards to grab around his waist, but he moves too quickly for her to get a hold on him that won't hurt him.

It takes them a few minutes of struggling, but Neal's eventually able to get Henry into his arms. He holds him tight against his chest, preventing him from being able to thrash around properly. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay."

He moves around, still, not quite calmed down yet, but he's no longer throwing punches. "Henry, bud," he calls, trying to hold him back as he struggles to get away.

He's able to pull him down onto his lap and hold him there without him screaming and fighting. "What's wrong, little man?" he asks, trying to get through to him despite the squirming and crying that he's continued to do.

He shakes his head, his eyes closed and his whole little body trembling. He looks down and sees his fists are still balled up. "Kiddo, I need you to tell me why you're upset so I can help you, okay?" he shakes his head tensely, still, his eyes remaining closed.

Emma looks up at him, tears starting to build in her eyes. "Do you want to go to mama?" Henry nods, his eyes still squeezed shut. "Okay, you have to be gentle, though, okay? Don't squeeze her so tight," he picks him up, passing him over to Emma, who pulls him back to her chest and he instantly clings to her, his arms going as far around her shoulders as they can.

She holds him while he cries for a little while longer, rocking him side to side and trying to soothe him at least a little bit. Neal eventually moved by her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

When he finally calms down a little bit, he moves to sit in a more comfortable position in her lap. "I think we need some hot cocoa, don't we?" Emma looks to Neal, who nods and smiles. Henry nods, tired from all the energy he's put into crying and fighting with Neal.

Emma stands and picks him up, carrying him to the kitchen. She tries to put him down to go and make the hot chocolate, but he puts up a fight about it, as he stays wrapped around her neck. "Do you want to go with papa? I can't hold you and make the cocoa, sweetie." There's a moment's hesitation before he nods and Emma passes him off to Neal, who goes to sit at the breakfast bar.

It's quiet while she makes the cocoa, and it's quiet while they drink it, too. Once they're done, they put the mugs in the sink and walk back to the bedroom. "Okay, it's bedtime now, okay?" Emma throws the blanket over Neal and Henry, who had wedged himself between the two on the bed.

He shakes his head violently, his eyes starting to water once again. "Okay, it's not then, okay? It's not bedtime," she promises, picking him up and trying to prevent a major meltdown like the one that happened earlier in the evening. "It's just time to be quiet, okay? That's all. It's just time to be quiet and rest," she smooths his hair back, letting him rest his head on her shoulder as she leans back.

He nods, digging his head further into her shirt. "I love you, Mama. I love you, Papa," he whispers, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"Love you, too."

"I love you, too, buddy."

Within ten minutes, Henry's dead asleep with both of his parent's holding onto him. Nobody wakes up with a nightmare for the rest of the night.


	92. The Ghost of You

**So, as some of you may have noticed, probably those of you that reread my** ** _super_** **old chapters, I've deleted the first three or four of them. It's been bothering me how poorly written the majority of these 'chapters' are (as entertaining as they may be for you guys) so I've decided to delete a few of the super repetitive ones entirely, and rewrite some, as well. This is a rewrite of what I** ** _believe_** **used to be the 4th 'chapter'.**

 **I** ** _deeply_** **and** ** _greatly_** **apologize if I have or end up deleting one of your favorites on here. I will totally not be opposed if any of you have a request for a rewrite of a chapter, whether I've deleted it already or not, so long as it's one of my old ones (old as in, like chapter 76 and lower (it may seem oddly specific but chapter 76 is the marking point for where I can't remember what it's about by the title)) and you** ** _know the title/somewhat plot if I've already deleted it._** **I do not remember what all of my chapters are about.**

 **(Sidenote: the rewrites** ** _will_** **take out unnecessary scenes/paragraphs/sentences/etc.)**

 **Thank you, I'm sorry for the unnecessarily long note, and I hope you enjoy this rewrite!**

* * *

She's shaking when she wakes up.

Neal's right there, holding her hand, while her parents stand in the corner of the room. How long they'd been there, she doesn't know, but she's hoping that it hasn't been too long.

They stand there for a minute, making sure that she won't lash out at them, before David comes over and puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Emma, you okay?"

She looks up at him and nods, staring for a minute, still processing what's happened.

He stands there for a minute, squeezing her shoulder every once in a while, before leaning down to look her in the eyes. "Do you want us to stay?" He looks genuinely concerned and she knows better than to worry them more- they'll never leave her alone again.

She shakes her head and he nods, squeezing her shoulder once more. "Okay, just call us if you need us," he tells her, waiting for her to nod before slowly standing fully and turning around to leave with Snow.

Neal looks at her from where he is next to the bed, squeezing her hand. "It's okay. It's just a bad dream, it's not real," he whispers.

She nods, tugging on his hand, silently asking him to come over to her. He stands, still holding her hand, and moves to sit by her on the bed, reaching down and grabbing her under the arm to pull her up to him.

She's not sure how this works, exactly. She only knows that she can see him, and nobody else can. She can't tell her parents this- or Henry, for that matter. It wouldn't be fair to them, and she's not sure how real it is.

There's the idea that she could very well be crazy, but it's Storybrooke- he could be there in spirit or something else that made it just a little bit less delusional. Even still, it's comforting to know that he's there with her on some level.

He lies there, holding onto her for a while- it doesn't feel like long, but it must be, because the sun comes up just a little bit more in the time that they're there. Soon, he's telling her that he has to go, but that he'd be back later.

"When will you tell me what's happening? Don't you know how I can bring you back?" she looks up at him, resting her chin on his chest while he looks down at her.

He smirks, looking down at her. "I never said I wouldn't tell you, you just never asked," he pauses, looking down at her. "I'm not really sure, actually. You might try tears of true love or somethin'- I've heard about that working. But don't do it now, okay? You need a break from all that crying," he chuckles, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "I love you. I have to go now," he whispers, and she clings to him tighter, waiting as he disappears.

She tries to convince herself to wait, but there's absolutely no logic behind it and she _can't help it._ She gets up and gets dressed, going down to her car and driving to the graveyard. After sitting in front of his grave for long enough, she manages to make herself cry.

Somehow, she finds a way to drop the tears above where his body is. She waits for the signature 'True Love woosh', but after a few seconds, nothing happens.

She stands, looking down at the grave as the tears become genuine and out of grief. After a minute, the grave starts to waver with colors- possibly just her vision being distorted because of the tears, but she hopes- maybe even prays- that it's something more than that.

It stops after a few seconds, but she remains crying, not sure if she'd imagined it or not.

"I told you to wait until tomorrow," she hears from behind her, and she turns around to find him standing there, waiting for her. He runs over to her before she has a chance to sink in what's happening. Her arms are around him without her trying to and she chokes on a sob as he squeezes her.

"I couldn't when I knew how to get you back," she mumbles, resting her head on his shoulder. He loosens his squeezing hold on her, giving her room to lean back if she wants to. "Is this real?" she steps back, not enough to pull herself out of his arms, but just enough to see his face.

He smiles, leaning forwards and kissing her. "Did that feel real?"

She smiles, kissing him back, quickly and hard. She breaks away after a minute, urgently enough for him to be concerned. She takes a minute, but then relaxes. "I'm just not going to work today."

He laughs, wrapping his arm around her as they start to walk back home. "You're ridiculous," she looks up at him in mock offense, pouting. "You know I love you," he mumbles, turning his head to kiss her.

When they get to the bug, he walks around to the driver's side with her, standing and waiting for a second before stopping. "Oh, wait," he goes around to the other side as she laughs at him. "Hey, in my defense, I haven't been in this car in- what, 12 years?"

She nods, starting the car, still chuckling, "I know."

He takes her hand as soon as they get out of the car and they walk upstairs together. Snow's already taken Henry to school, but David's still home, washing dishes. As soon as he sees Neal, he drops a plate into the sink, successfully chipping it.

"Uh, hi?" Neal greets, sucking in a breath through his teeth as David picks up the badly chipped plate.

David smiles at him, putting the plate to the side. "Well, hi. Welcome back, Neal."


	93. To Be Young and In Love

**This is a _drastically_ rewritten version of what used to be called 'Not The Same'. Enjoy!**

* * *

Neal stares up at the ceiling, sighing heavily.

Emma had fallen asleep long ago, and he'd been awake the whole time, listening to her breathing, as per the usual. Normally, it works pretty well. Tonight isn't one of those nights.

She's fairly far away tonight- further than she is most nights, at least. If he wants to hold her, he'd have to move her so much that it'd almost definitely wake her up. She doesn't usually sleep too well, anyway, so when this happens, it's not unusual for her to come over and curl up against him on her own. So, he waits.

He waits long enough that it becomes almost tedious, and he grunts, carefully trying to get on his side so not to wake her up. Once he's settled, he reaches over, beginning to draw little hearts over her back, tracing the words 'I love you' repeatedly.

The almost-silence of the room makes it feel like the only life in the apartment is the two of them, although Henry is asleep in his room next door, and her parents are downstairs, either having some downtime while the baby sleeps or trying to get to that point.

After many minutes of doodling little words and shapes on her back, he gives up hope of doing anything entertaining- or boring enough to make himself tired- and finally turns the lights out, lying on his back and closing his eyes.

When he feels arms go around him, he opens his eyes to find Emma lying there, her arms wrapped around him, and clearly very much awake. "I love you, too," she whispers, her voice a little bit uncertain but at the same time confident as ever.

Immediately, his face turns beet red. If she didn't have his arms held down by his sides, he'd probably cover his eyes. "You picked that up from doodles?"

She nods, blushing a bit and laying her head down.

They hadn't confessed to loving each other- not officially, not when it hasn't been an emergency. It had become almost unfamiliar to him to hear it; almost as unfamiliar as it felt for her to say it. Now, though, after having heard it over the portal, and again in Neverland, it felt right.

He didn't feel like it was rushed, or that it was something to say besides 'you better not leave me again'. It reassures him that this is serious for her, too. That she's not just using him as something to distract from the madness of Storybrooke.

He keeps this in mind as she falls back asleep on him, this time with him following shortly behind.

The next morning, as they're rushing to get ready, having hit snooze on their first two alarms, they're just a tad bit happier than they would normally be; there are kisses on the cheek each time they pass, there's smiling and fumbling around with their jackets, phones, and keys as they try to remember everything.

At the station, they manage to love on each other in the subtlest of ways to avoid being scolded by her father. They sneak kisses with the exchange of paperwork and share soft smiles from across the station. At lunch, Emma goes out and brings back Granny's, giving them a fair reason to sit in her office together and talk for a while before they have to start working again.

Once lunch is over, Neal has to head back to his desk, and Emma has to finish all of her paperwork, resulting in them not getting to talk for the rest of the day. Even after their many years of experience being separated, their hearts both still ache when they're not able to be together- although three hours pales in comparison to eleven years. Still, they leave each other to do their work, hoping to get to go home sooner that way.

They get to leave at around 4:30- better than what Emma thought it would turn out to be- and they drive back together. The second they get home, they start making dinner, teasing and cracking jokes which results in them getting compared to children by her mother- more than once, as well.

That night, as they get ready for bed, Neal watches her, wondering how he'd managed to have such an amazing woman steal his stolen car.


	94. Keep You Safe

**This is a rewrite of what I _think_ may have been a request but I'm not sure. Anway, enjoy!**

* * *

Henry wakes up panting, sweating more than he ever has. He takes a minute to look around and makes sure that he's not still in the burning room, before closing his eyes in relief. He takes a deep breath, trying as hard as possible not to think about his dream, but it doesn't seem to help at all.

He thinks about going downstairs to get water, but he decides against it, afraid of waking up his new uncle. He sits in bed for a few minutes, not daring to move from the position he forced himself into when he woke up.

After a little while, he reaches his arm out, going to brush back the curtain from the window, hoping that seeing the snow on the streets would take away the memories of the nightmare he just had. All it does is freak him out even more.

He knows that he shouldn't be scared of the footprints in the snow, knowing full well that nobody's been able to drive anywhere because of the snow, but it reminds him too much of his dream- all of those people, in the room, all of them dirty and broken and bloody; all of them crying out for help.

He wasn't able to save any of them, not a single one. There had been things flying around, hitting people and knocking them down, some of the just passing out, but others that were dying. He was yelling at them to listen, to try to calm down, but nobody listened to him.

He started breathing too heavily, too hard as he sat there. He let the curtain fall back as he saw another person, shuddering as he saw all of the people that didn't survive. He wipes his tears away, even though he knows it won't stop.

It takes him too long to look up at the clock, but when he does he sees that it's only midnight. He pulls off his blankets, his feet hitting the cool ground as he goes in search of his parents. He turns around every few seconds when the floor creaks to make sure that there's nobody behind him.

He's still shaking and there are still tears, but he's more focused on getting to his mom and dad alive than he is on how upset he is.

When he gets to the door, it creaks open as he pushes it, causing both his parents to look up at him. It clicks for Emma that something's wrong first, as she holds her arms out to him. "Kid, what happened?"

He doesn't even say anything, he just walks over to where she's sitting on the bed and crawls into her arms, hugging her extra tightly. She hugs him back, of course, her hand on the back of his head- she's found for herself that it's strangely comforting.

Neal finishes getting ready for bed, Emma having already done so (hence why she could help Henry), and climbs in the bed beside them. He's at a loss for words.

Henry's usually a pretty tough kid- there's nothing wrong with crying, of course, but the handful of times that he's seen him cry, he's been hurt. Like, blood and bruises, hurt. As far as he can see, there's none of that happening right now.

After a few minutes of having been curled up in his mom's arms, he decides to move to Neal, needing a bit of love from both of his parents.

Neal, unaware that Henry'd even noticed that he's there, takes a bit of a shock when he moves over to his lap, hugging him probably even tighter than he did Emma.

Emma, who sees that they're handling this whole thing just fine, decides to go and finish up getting ready for the night- she doesn't even really leave the room, but the second that she gets up Neal starts worrying about what he's supposed to do.

He takes a minute to just think. When Emma's upset, he just holds her, not completely unlike he's holding Henry right now. He pulls him a bit closer, causing Henry to make a little 'oof' noise.

Emma comes back, and Neal's sure the look on his face is amazing as he practically begs her to take Henry. She tilts her head to the side- if she could scold him without Henry knowing, she would.

It's not as if Neal _doesn't want_ to comfort him. He's just not completely sure how to. There have been very few times where Henry's cried in front of him, and when he has he wasn't _this_ upset. It was almost always just other stuff that could be resolved with a pep talk and a milkshake.

This, clearly, cannot.

He sighs quietly, trying to keep it from altering the way he's breathing too much, as well, not wanting to disturb Henry. Speaking of, they still haven't figured out what's wrong yet, Neal realizes.

He takes a second, rubbing his back, before starting to talk. "Henry, bud?" he doesn't respond, but instead snuggles deeper into his chest. He looks up at Emma, making his best 'help me' face.

She moves closer to them, putting her hand on Henry's back. "Kid," she calls, trying to keep somewhat quiet, not to wake the baby downstairs.

Henry picks his head up, still shaking, but his cries having quieted just a little bit.

Neal looks between him and Emma, worry clear in his eyes. "You okay?" he asks, looking over at him.

Henry nods, putting his head back down on Neal's chest. He's made it clear that he doesn't want to be questioned too much and neither of his parents is about to do that to him.

He let's go of Neal, moving to his back and wedging himself in between his parents on the bed. "There were a lot of people that got hurt and I couldn't save them," he explains, clearing up that it had to have been a nightmare to his parents.

Emma moves back, rolling on her side and reaching up to brush Henry's hair off of his forehead, trying to help comfort him. "Kid, it wasn't real. You haven't done anything wrong, even if that's what happened in your dream, that's not what would've happened in real life," she tries to explain.

He sniffles a little bit, closing his eyes. His chin is wobbling again, but the tears have slowed down by a lot. "What if they are real, though? It was in the red room, everything else has been real there," he debates, looking over at his parents. "What if they try to get to us?"

Neal shakes his head, looking into Henry's eyes. He puts his hand on his arm, rubbing it up and down. "We're gonna keep you safe, buddy. They're not gonna get to you," he promises, leaning over and kissing his forehead.

Both of his parents move to hold onto him. They realize that they can't exactly both do that, so Neal holds onto him and Emma takes one of his hand. It's a bit awkward, but it's not entirely uncomfortable, and they know that Henry needs it. "What if they get to you guys?" he asks, out of the blue.

Emma responds this time, chuckling with her response. "They won't. I'm a super-magic princess warrior, remember? Nobody's gonna get to _any_ of us, as long as I'm as stubborn as I am," she whispers, Neal squeezing him tight around his shoulders.

With that, he's satisfied, and he takes deep breath, cuddling closer to his dad.

Within a few minutes, he's still, breathing completely steadily, his body no longer shaking.

Usually, Emma would be upset if someone stole her spot in Neal's arms, but she knows that Henry needs it more than her right now. She grabs Henry's arm, gently, and hugs it to her, and falls asleep with both of her boys right by her


	95. I've Got High Hopes

Emma thinks that it couldn't be the same for anyone else as it is for her in Neverland. Not being able to sleep at night because of all the boys crying and all of the worrying that she's doing over finding Henry. It reminds her of all the nights she spent in group homes and police stations just _waiting_ for the day that she'd be able to go off on her own.

It's like a giant, jumbled up mess of an island filled with bad memories from her childhood.

Well, her childhood- and also Neal's childhood.

They'd found him earlier in the day, which was really, really, good. He's with her, and he'll be able to help find Henry and get them off of the island. Hopefully.

Now, he's right outside, sitting against the wall of the cave keeping watch. He'd refused to let anyone else do it- beside Killian, who insisted on staying with him, given that he's the other 'veteran of the island' or whatever.

She hadn't thought much of it when he'd offered. She'd assumed that he's just trying to help out, that he's just as eager to get back to Henry as she is.

So, it shocks her quite a bit when she walks out of the cave, the muskiness of it hard for her to breathe- apparently asthma never _completely_ goes away- and she starts coughing, only to find him there, wide awake, with Killian across the clearing passed out.

"You alright?" he asks and she nods, going to sit beside him. She mimics his position, pulling her knees up to her chest.

She looks over at him and he meets her gaze. She notices that his eyes are red- either tiredness or tears, she doesn't know- but she _does_ know that something is wrong.

She reaches over and takes his hand, hoping and praying that he won't mention it. "Everything okay?" she asks, knowing that he's probably going to lie about it and say that everything _is_ okay, when everything is clearly _not okay._

He nods, looking down, clearly lying- which she knew he'd do, to be fair. She lets go of his hand and uses her hand to smack him on the arm. " _You_ are full of it," she states, starting to play with the shoelace on her wrist.

He smiles, shaking his head. "Then why'd you ask, if you knew I wouldn't actually tell you?"

She smiles, shrugging, "One can hope."

He looks down, away from her, "I don't know. I just- this sucks. You know, Henry's gone, and this island makes you think differently, and I just keep running through my head what would've happened if-"

"I know," she interrupts him- she doesn't need to be reminded of that by anybody else- especially when she's already doing it all on her own. "It's tough. I don't think I've _actively_ thought about my time in the system since the curse broke- but here, I mean…" she stops there.

"It takes the hope out of you," he tells her. She nods, looking down.

"It sucks. It makes me want my parents, and they're _here._ It's just weird," she leans over, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's better knowing that I won't be alone in this if we don't find him, though."

He looks over at her, and she picks her head up, "What do you mean? You have your parents-"

"I know I do, it's just- they don't- _they don't_ get it. The fairytale drama. It's _insane!_ And you know that it's insane but it's like _they_ can't even begin to _fathom_ why I'd think that," she leans back against the cave wall.

He feels selfish for his mind having gone to where it has- she's worrying, and their son is _missing, for God's sake,_ but he can't stop himself from asking- "When we get back, then," he doesn't want to finish. He didn't want to start saying it, but it came falling out.

She sighs and she looks up at him, "I'm trying. Just give me a little while longer, okay? And then… we can take it slow, alright?"

She's conforming to his speech patterns, already. Since when does she say 'alright'? She doesn't. He does.

He nods, offering a reassuring smile- oh, how they've switched roles. "Alright. We'll take it as slow as you want," and he's giving her that _look._

She wants to kiss him, but she knows that if she does that right now- while they're in pain and feeding off of each other- she's going to regret it.

So, she rests her head back down on his shoulder and she wraps her arm around his back. He puts his arm around her, too, pulling him closer to him, and then he kisses her forehead.

That'll have to be enough for now.

For now.


	96. Right Where We Should Be

Emma stands, staring into her closet in contempt, looking into her closet- as she has been on and off for the past thirty minutes. She's not usually the type to put much thought into this kind of thing- usually she'd just find something and throw it on, but really, this is Neal.

And even though he probably couldn't care less about what she's wearing, she'd like to look somewhat decent- in a different way than she usually does, too. So, rather than continue looking, she'd already taken a 'check the pantry and find nothing' break, a bathroom break, and an actual snack break. Because really, what are you supposed to wear to a lunch date with the man who acts as your best friend, son's father, _and_ possible boyfriend?

You might as well just not try.

Which she's debating doing when her mother shows up in her doorway, looking very concerned, "Honey? What's going on?" she asks, walking up to her and putting her hand on her shoulder.

She doesn't say anything. Vocalizing her problem is a more embarrassing than her actual problem, so she just gestures to the closet and turns around, going to sit on the bed.

"Ah, you can't find anything to wear," Snow assumes, walking up to the closet and going through all of the shirts and all of the jeans, along with some shorts and tank tops for the summertime.

She goes through almost everything before she notices the dresses shoved against the back wall on hangers, she makes a gap in the clothes before them, separating out the dresses from the rest of the clothes before pulling them all out.

Emma notices what she's found, and what she's _doing,_ just a second too late, "Oh, mom, no," she groans, watching as Snow flops all the dresses on the bed beside her.

Her mother just shakes her head, smiling from ear to ear as she picks up the dresses one by one, going through them, "These are all beautiful, Emma," she looks up at her once she's done, still grinning, "Why don't you wear one of these?"

Emma glances over at them, shrugging, "They're all so _old,_ I mean, I'm sure he's probably seen me in at least half of those, and I haven't worn them in so long- at least since Henry found me, probably before then- I mean, a lot of those are from _when I knew Neal,_ so you can imagine," she shrugs, glaring at the pile, "and if they're from before Henry was born, I'm not even sure if they still fit," she protests.

Snow grabs a random one- one with _sunflowers_ on it, and hands it to her, "At least try it on? Please?" Emma takes it hastily, groaning the entire way to the bathroom door, leaving Snow standing there smiling like she hasn't in years.

As Emma's in the bathroom, Snow goes through the other clothes in her closet- clearly, she's not all for the idea of wearing a dress- and finds a nice cute outfit that she's almost certain will be a little more 'Emma'. Cute shirt, ripped jeans, and she manages to find a pair of shoes that aren't boots somewhere in there that match.

And as she's yanking that new/old pair of shoes from behind everything else in the closet, she hears the bathroom door slam and Emma come stomping out- in true Emma fashion. Lo and behold, it fits, and she managed to not implode upon herself while trying it on- even if she looks like she's about to any second now.

She doesn't say anything and instead just stands and admires her daughter, while she stands like a child who's just been told 'no'. "I don't like it."

Snow can't help but laugh a little at that, "That's a little obvious, baby," she explains, stepping forwards, adjusting the straps on the dress, "But, you do look _very_ cute in it," she defends, stepping back and looking her up and down.

"Do you want to try a different one, or put on the outfit that I found that has no dress involved?"

Emma nods, looking extremely desperate- it's almost pitiful, "Yes, please," she quickly says, following her mother as she turns around, walking back over to the bed and fiddling with the shirt.

"Okay, so, I thought this was a little less… frilly, as one may put it, and I figured you'd like it a little more? Especially since it has multiple parts," she explains.

Emma nods, picking up her jeans and shirt off of the bed, "Definitely more my speed. I'll go change," she says, rushing off to the bathroom, much quicker than she did when she was practically being forced into that dress.

Snow takes the time that she's in the bathroom as an opportunity to put all the dresses back, making silent notes-to-self which ones she's going to come and borrow later on- besides, Emma probably won't mind, since the mere thought of putting those dresses on seemed to be enough to make her gag.

She doesn't even hear Emma come in this time, she's so busy admiring a red, plaid dress that she'd found. She knows she probably wouldn't be able to pull it off, but _Emma…_

"I was wearing that one when I met him," she hears, nearly jumping out of her skin, "it's one of my favorite ones. Probably the only one I'd consider wearing voluntarily now," she walks over to the closet, reaching back into a part that seemed to be flooded with jackets, jackets, and more jackets. "I usually liked to match it up with this, since there's a hole in the back."

Snow hadn't even noticed the hole, but even knowing that it's there now, she doesn't mind it. It even adds character, in her opinion.

Upon looking at the clock, Emma stands up taller, visibly shocked, "I gotta go," she says, and Snow looks up at her, concerned.

"You're not going to go? But you-"

Emma steps forward, giving her a hug, "I _am_ gonna go, I'm _late,_ mom," she explains.

Snow turns to look at the clock, her eyes widening just a bit, "Oh, go! Have fun!" she calls, as Emma lets go of her and rushes down the hallway. "Love you!"

"Love you, too!" she hears, as the door slams.


	97. Hold On Tight, Wait For Tomorrow

**Hi, everybody! I haven't updated on here in such a long time! I've moved almost entirely over to Archive of Our Own, under the handle onceupon_ahappyending, so if you'd like to keep up with my updating, I'd highly recommend heading on over there to see those works! This collection is there, as well as a few new one-chaptered one shots (this one isn't actually a part of Both of Us over there.), and my drabble challenge work, which is under the name 'Look After You'. I'll still do mass updates, such as the one I'm currently doing. I think I have some more to add on here, but there's also a few of those single one-shots uploaded to my page now if you'd like to see them! I'll also work on my rewrites of these, I've gotten quite behind on those.**

 **Thank you for sticking with me for so long, I hope you enjoy this honorary 'Both of Us' installment XD**

* * *

Neal's not quite sure what to do when he hears the sniffling coming from the cabins.

He'd told Henry that he'd be right back, and he'd meant it- well, he'd thought that he'd meant it. After all, the plan was to come downstairs, grab the spare blankets, and head back up. Now, though… Well, now he's not sure what to do.

He's almost certain- well, like, 95% sure that it's Emma. Though not much could get her upset, there were a few things that could, and the girl really, _really_ loved to argue; especially as a teenager. Which lead to a lot of other things happening, and eventually, her being extra upset with him.

Crying worthy upset.

Before, he'd just go walking in there. Now, though, she's not particularly fond of him. Granted, she doesn't seem to be thrilled with anybody at the moment- but she's been upset with him for a while now. And, yeah, he might know her better than most (most being maybe even more than her mother) he doesn't want to use that in a way that'll make it worse.

Presenting the question: what should he _do?_

Leaving her alone- _nope._ Getting someone else to help her- _possible nope._ Helping her himself- _well…_

Running it through his head, trying to go in and at least further decide what to do couldn't have too many consequences; worst case scenario, she throws something at him. Not that that wouldn't hurt, but, hey, better than leaving he by herself.

So, after having returned the blankets to their usual place, he walks over to the door. Hopefully Killian hadn't taught her how to lock the doors in here yet- pirate ship locks are _nothing_ like tumbler locks, mostly because they're _impossible_ to open from the outside.

He takes a minute to build the courage, mentally preparing to be hit with a book or candlestick, before gently opening the door.

As he'd suspected, the sniffling ceases instantaneously. She'd never really been the type to be happy with people seeing her cry. Even after it had happened a bunch of times before, she still hid in his shirt in the last few months of them being together.

"Hey," he calls from the doorway, not stepping in any further. He can't see her, but he knows that she's there; he can hear her breathing. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Can I come in?" She doesn't say anything, but she makes a short humming sound and he hopes that it was a 'yes' instead of a 'no'.

Still, even after knowing that she at least knows that he's there, he still proceeds with caution- she's probably still not too happy with him- which means a heavy object could still come hurling towards his head at any waking moment.

He closes the door behind him as he walks in. He thinks about locking it, but he decides against it- the locks are a bit confusing (he'd needed to be reminded three times before he'd gotten it) and if she wants to storm off in the future, he'd like her to be able to do that sans help.

Once he finds her, he has to stop himself from just pulling her to him and never letting go- she's made herself into a little ball on the ground, and she's still got tears on her cheeks, but she's still trying to act tough. "Hey," she sniffles, looking up at him.

He nods a greeting, not completely sure what'll come out if he tries to speak, and he sits down in front of her.

He takes a minute, just letting himself take all of _this_ in, before looking over at her and daring to reach for her hand. "You okay?" she takes his hand ( _thank you, god_ ) _,_ but she doesn't look up at him. In fact, she looks _away_ from him.

He squeezes her hand and waits. He knows she'll open up if she wants to- if not, that's fine, too. He hadn't even expected her to be okay with this, and yet, here they are.

She takes a bit to calm herself down some more (she hadn't yet finished having her moment when he'd come in and it kind of threw her off) before looking up at him. "How's Henry?"

He nods, looking up, but not at her, still, "He's okay. Tired," _short and sweet,_ he reminds himself.

"Is he down here or upstairs?" she asks, tapping her fingers on her knee- a nervous tic that he'd realized she had within three days of knowing her.

"Upstairs. I was grabbing some blankets from the closet," she nods, and she takes her hand back.

"You should probably get those up there then."

He gives her a concerned- not too concerned, he doesn't want to scare her- look. "Are you sure? I can stay a while longer. It's not cold up there, anyway, they'll live," he assures.

"Okay," she puts her head down on top of her knees, which are pulled to her chest.

It's quiet for a minute, and then, "Are you okay, Emma?" she picks her head up and laughs.

"Since when am I 'Emma'?" he tilts his head- he knows her too well. _Much_ too well. "I'll be okay. I'm just… overwhelmed," her voice fades to a mumble, tearing up again, "I don't even know why," she laughs, wiping them away.

He looks at her and just smiles for a second, waiting for something- anything to happen, when she moves to give him a hug ( _what is going on?_ ).

It's not like he pushes her away, because why in the world _would_ he? Instead, he returns it- he doesn't let himself get too close, though- he doesn't want to scare her off.

And then she pulls back (it's been a little while since they started hugging in the first place, so he can't be too upset about it, but he still wishes it would never end) and he notices that she's been crying again. She wipes her eyes and chuckles again.

She looks over at him and laughs, and he's sure it looks like he's a bit ridiculous looking so concerned. "Really, though, since when am I 'Emma'?!" she laughs and his whole face breaks into a smile.

"Since we first found each other again," he laughs and she smiles, tilting her head to the side.

It takes her a minute before she scrunches up her nose and looks over at him. "Really?" she smiles at him and he nods. "I guess I haven't paid enough attention then." He nods and reaches over to take her hand again. "Oh, and can you not call me that please? Like- you know? I like my nickname," she laughs.

He raises his eyebrows, nodding, "Yeah, sure… Em," and she smiles a huge, giant smile. There's a moment of silence, "Can you tell me what happened? Please?"

She looks at the ground, her smile only fading just a little bit- thank god. "I still don't really know. I'm just overwhelmed, I guess. It's not often that your son _and his father_ both come back from the dead within a week- or at all, really. I'm working on it, though. I'll be okay," she promises and he nods, smiling and squeezing her hand.

"Good," he responds, "that's really, really good. And you know that I'm okay, right? Like- not completely healed yet, but-"

Her eyes go wide and she smacks his arm, "You're not completely healed yet?!"

And thus the anger starts again.


	98. Nothing's Changed At All

**This is another one of those single chaptered one-shots turned members of 'Both of Us'. This happens to be one of my favorite chapter's that I've written so far! I hope you enjoy it! Also, please send me requests! I sadly lost the folder with all of my old requests on it when I switched phones a while back, so I'll need some new ones to do! I'll definitely remember to post those on here!**

* * *

She used to go for walks every night. It was a way for her to unwind- to give herself just a little bit of alone time before locking herself back up in the car. Although Neal was good company, sometimes being with another person all the time was just a little bit too much.

Sometimes he'd join her, too, though. Those nights they'd walk down the sidewalks, sometimes quietly- if she didn't talk, he wouldn't either,- sometimes loudly, and they'd knock into each other on purpose and laugh about nothing in particular, and sometimes they'd do both- but most of the time, she was just by herself.

The nightly walks ended when she got arrested. It didn't feel quite right to go without anybody waiting for her to get back, or without anybody to come along. Part of it didn't even feel safe, having nobody know where she was going or if she'd be coming back; having nobody that cared.

Then, one night, after she'd been through curses and deaths and all of the above, Gold finds a way to bring Neal back from the dead. When he'd first come back from Manhattan, it would've been bittersweet, but now, all of those conflicted feelings have _flown._ She's ready now.

She goes with him to the graveyard and they work a real-life _miracle_ with their entire family watching. It's not completely dark yet, but it feels like this should be happening when it's dark. The moon should be the only thing that's bright- but the sun's still up.

She mentions it- Gold shrugs her off, "This is what the spell says, dearie. I don't make the rules," and she just brushes it off.

If the spell says 'at dawn', the spell says 'at dawn'.

They complete the spell, and within an instant ( _less than an instant_ ), it's worked. It's done and he's there in front of them. Henry's thrown himself at him and she feels like she might be imposing by even being there, even if she's trying to look away ( _she's not looking away._ )

They're not talking, they're just fumbling about, trying to hold on tighter for as long as they can possibly stand it- nobody's about to interrupt, of course. They've been separated for _far_ too long. Even a day would've been far too long- this is a _lifetime_ too long.

Once they've taken it in, realized that they're back together, that _nothing and nobody_ can separate them _ever_ again, Neal looks up. They're still kind of hugging- only kind of, not really- but the second that he meets her eyes, he's a little less inclined to hang onto Henry; he's too motivated to _get to her._

She can see it in his eyes before he rushes over to her and pulls her against him so hard that she's not convinced that her heart can still function. She doesn't know what to say- what do you say to an ex-dead man, anyway?- and neither does he, apparently, because he's quiet, too, besides the heavy breathing.

He takes longer to let go of her; or, it _feels_ like he takes longer to let go of her. She's hoping and praying that he doesn't disappear when he does; he is, too, and he doesn't completely let go of her (besides to greet everybody else) for the entire walk back to Granny's.

Dinner goes by smoothly- Neal's beside Emma and across from Henry and he doesn't move his arm from around her until food comes. The whole family sits and talks until closing when they're told that they _have to_ leave. (" _Granny says, 'Eight o'clock, sharp'. I would let you stay, but it's closing_ right now.").

They walk back to the loft as a family- even those who don't live there come back 'for ice cream'.

Once they're all gone, Neal turns to face Emma at the table- he's given up on the constant physical reassurance, but is still adamant that they're _together._

He puts his hand on hers, taking a deep, calming breath, before- "Wanna go for a walk?"

It almost takes her a minute to let it click in her brain that _oh, that's not a new thing._ She doesn't have the heart to tell him that she hasn't stuck to that routine since before all of _that_ happened- it doesn't even matter though, because _yeah, she wants to._

She just nods.

He smiles and he pushes his seat back, standing and walking around her, grabbing her hand. There's some explaining to be done, but before she knows it, they're out the door.

Right off the bat, it's a loud-quiet walk. A quiet, nice, _happy_ conversation walk.

"-So, there was an evil ice-cream truck operator?"

"Well, no," she's laughing between her words now- really, she feels like she's floating- "she was an ice witch- wait, not a witch! I think she was supposed to be a queen? I'm not… a hundred percent sure."

He laughs- he knocks into her on purpose again, and _holy mother, that hasn't happened in a lifetime,_ "I guess I missed a lot, huh?" it should be sad, really, but he's _laughing._

She tries not to be sad- she tries _so, so hard._ "Yeah," there's a moment of silence and she can't help but think, ' _now you've done it, Swan,'_ before she can't keep her mouth shut any longer, "You know, you're pretty happy for an ex-dead man."

The second she says it, she regrets it. Her chest fills with dread and ' _oh, now you've really, really done it, Swan.'_

But, he laughs.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she sighs, this time with relief, and he smiles this great, amazing smile at her, "I really am."


	99. Trust Me

Emma hears Neal's voice, sitting up slowly in bed.

She tries hard not to make noise, not wanting to scare him and risk someone getting hurt- or worse, accidentally killed.

There aren't many times that the gang ends up in another realm, but when they do, it's because someone is lost or hurt- or both.

Point is, it's never planned, nor on purpose.

This time is no different- Neal's now the Dark One. So, Emma had Gold use the blood-relative-tracker thing to try and find him, and sure enough, it led them to their old home in the Frontlands, where they'd been camping out for the past few days, trying to find out how to rid him of the darkness.

Emma looks in the direction that they'd set up his bed earlier, waiting for the whispers to quiet before speaking. "Neal?"

No answer.

She stands, trying to avoid stepping on any limbs while she walks over to his spot, following the whispering, which had resumed since she called his name.

Once she gets to him, she's able to make him out faintly in the darkness. "Hey," she stops in front of him. "Mind if I join you?" she thinks she can see him twitch, but she's not sure. She sits down anyway, copying his position- knees drawn to her chest, arms on top of them.

She turns her head to face him. "Can't sleep?"

He shakes his head, looking down. "Nope," he mumbles.

She can feel the pain he's in just by seeing him tensed like that, and she feels all the more guilty because of it.

They'd discussed a while ago that she's the Dark One that he's seeing. She can tell that it's particularly hard for him to decide _which Emma to listen to._ Everyone has taken a go at distracting him, but it hasn't worked in any form besides getting right in front of him and forcing him to do something else.

She leans forwards, trying to meet his eyes. "Can I try to help?"

He nods, picking his head up. She smiles and magics up some sticks and strings, putting them in front of them. "So, dreamcatchers," she starts, grabbing a stick and holding it. "Are incredibly hard to make."

He laughs out loud, and she turns to him, smiling.

"Well, it's the truth! There's no easy way to bend a stick into a circle."

"Just, the way you said it… anyway-"

She smiles, trying to bend the stick and hold it still. "Anyway- you have to, like, break it a little bit, in order for it to actually make something _resembling_ a circle- it won't be an actual circle, by the way, it'll be more like a jacked up square-" she's cut off by more laughter- in the few times she's heard him laugh in the past few minutes, it almost makes up for her not having heard it for weeks.

There's a moment when she thinks about telling him that he should be quiet; they'll wake up Henry. No, she thinks, it's been much too long since they've had a time like this together. Much too long.


	100. You're In My Veins

A constant, steady, beeping is the first thing that Emma notices when she starts to wake up.

Then, the feeling of sheets around her, clothes that _definitely_ aren't hers, something itching on her arm, and a hand holding hers.

The beeping speeds up as she starts to freak out, and she picks up her head, trying to sit up so that she'd be able to go and find her son. And Neal, too, if fate allowed.

She feels a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back just enough to keep her down. "You have broken ribs, take it easy," she hears, and her eyes snap open.

Her throat is already sore, so she knows she's bound to regret it when she croaks out, "and you're shot."

Neal chuckles, sitting down on the bed beside her. "It's a _graze,_ you _mom_ ," he reaches over to the nightstand beside the bed, grabbing the remote and lifting up the head of the bed. He hands her a glass of water, which she accepts gladly.

She closes her eyes tightly, realizing what she should've a while ago- swallowing _hurts._ Once she's done writhing in pain, she looks back up at him, "Broken ribs? How'd that happen?"

"You were beaten with a pipe, Emma. I know you think you're bulletproof, but you can't be anything but naive if you thought you'd end up uninjured."

She looks away from him, a bit embarrassed that she hadn't realized that she'd been hurt, too.

He's right, too. She should've seen something coming from that- but she'd think a concussion, from where she'd been hit.

She shakes her head, sighing- bad idea, again- and looking up at him. "What about Henry?"

He nods his head to the side, meeting her eyes. "With your parents at the apartment. Regina came pretty close to death, so they're checkin' her out before they come down here. It might be good that way, too. It'll give you time to recover some," he tries to help, knowing that she'd wanted to see Henry the second she woke up. "You okay?"

She nods.

He's here, her parents are coming with Henry, and for the first time, she's not one-hundred percent alone in the hospital. So, yeah. She's okay.


	101. Despite It All

Everyone's fighting the flying monkeys. Regina's taking out multiple monkeys in a minute using her magic. David has his sword. Robin has his crossbow. Emma has her gun- well, she has her now _empty_ gun. So, really, Emma just has her hands.

She tries to get away, moving over to reload it, but as she's running, she's tackled. The monkey pins her down, holding her on the ground and digging its talons into her shoulders, drawing blood.

She lets out a cry, trying to push it off of her, but she's tired and in pain. She tries to push herself down further into the ground, away from it, but she stops when she realizes she's wasting her energy.

So, she gives up. Her eyes well up, hoping that someone- her father, Regina, Robin, or anybody else- would notice and come to save her. One arm is numb already, though, and the other is still throbbing.

She meets the beasts eyes for the first time since she'd been attacked. Instead of finding, cold, cruel eyes she's been expecting, she finds familiar, warm brown eyes. The second that it sinks in- that she sees it's eyes- it let's go immediately, almost as if it'd recognized her, too.

It clicks in her brain as she gets up and David comes over with his sword, starting to go after it- him. After _him._ Neal.

"Dad, stop!" she yells, screaming at him and watching as her dad continues to go after him. She cries out again as a wave of pain crosses her shoulder. "It's Neal, dad! He's not defending himself because he knows you! Stop!"

As she begs, Regina crushes Zelena's heart and all of the flying monkeys are returned to their human states. Neal snaps out of it quickly, running over to her to make sure that she's alright.

She puts her hand- the one of her less injured arm- on his shoulder. "I'm okay."

David runs over, trying to inspect her arm. Emma shakes her head, "I'm fine, go get the baby," he looks up at her hesitantly before running over to the basket, picking up the baby from it.

Neal stays back with her, looking at her arm, his eyes filled with concern. He picks his hand up and she glares at him when he looks back at her. "Don't touch it, I'll have Whale take care of it when we get back to the hospital, alright?"

He nods, looking down for the rest of the time that they're waiting for everyone to leave.

Emma shakes her head, giving him a hug. "I'll be okay, I've sported worse cuts than this."

He squints, sighing and leaning forwards to kiss her forehead. She smiles, turning and wrapping her arm around him as they followed her father back to the hospital.

Whale immediately tries to rush her back into the ER, but settled on a clinic room. He had her take her jacket off so that he could stitch up her arm, gave her an ACE bandage to keep it relatively still, and then released her and Neal to go and meet her younger brother.


	102. Younger Now Than We Were Before

Emma wakes up to her phone going off.

She groans, still trying to catch up on sleep after coming back from the energy-deprivation fest, aka Neverland. She sits up in bed, turning to look at her clock ( _3:14, for the love of-_ ) before grabbing her phone off of the night stand.

She looks at the screen- she'd been thinking that maybe she forgot to turn her alarm off, since she'd been planning to take tomorrow (now today) off. Now, though, she's a little bit more confused, as it's not 'wake up' flashing on her screen, but rather, Neal's name.

She groans, climbing out of bed and wrapping a cardigan herself and she answers as she walks out to the fire escape.

"Hello?" she grumbles, one arm wrapped around herself to keep warm.

It takes a minute before he answers, "Hey," and she waits for him to say something else, but he doesn't.

She sighs, assuming that she'll have to be the one to strike up conversation, "Is there a reason that you called me at this fine hour?"

She can hear the hesitation in the silence while she waits and she knows that there's something _wrong._

"Well, yeah. I just had a nightmare and I wanted to make sure you were okay," he explains- his voice is still hoarse and sleepy and- _crap,_ she forgot that he has nightmares. Actually, she didn't _forget,_ but she'd figured that he'd grown out of them or something because he hasn't talked about them at all. But, he never did then, either.

She immediately forces herself to act less tired, and nicer, while she's correcting her attitude, "Oh, well, I'm fine. Are you okay? I can come over if you want me to," and it's not an offer out of wanting to leave home this late at night- or rather, this early in the morning- but more of an offer out of knowing how badly that can affect him and _heaven forbid_ he ended up getting hurt while he's panicking.

She can hear him shaking his head on the other end of the line, "No, it's okay. It wasn't even too bad, it just… I dunno, it felt real, and I wanted to check if you were alright. And Henry, too, but he's with Regina, right?"

She nods, "Yeah, but I'm sure he's okay. I wouldn't call her, though, she probably wouldn't take too kindly to being woken up," she laughs _thank god_ he does, too, "are you gonna try to go back to sleep soon?"

She hears him sigh and she wants to just run over there and _sedate_ him because she knows him and she knows that he will do _anything_ to avoid having nightmares. Anything.

"Yeah, probably. Normally, no, but I am _soo_ tired," and she has to laugh at that, at least a little bit, because really, who isn't after that really super fun adventure?

"That's good," she says, trying to sound perky and happy despite the fact.

She hears him nodding against the phone _again_ and she smiles- _this guy still doesn't know how to work them all the way_ , she thinks.

"Well, that's all. I think I'm gonna try to go back to sleep," there's a pause and she can feel in her _bones_ what's coming next, "I guess I might see you tomorrow, then?"

And for a second, she's seventeen again, and she's hopelessly in love this this guy and she doesn't think that he'll break her heart (at least, hopefully not again), and she nods against the phone just like he does, and, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," as she signs away her last chance to back out of this _thing_ in good conscience.

She can hear the breath of relief and she can see the smile in her head before he says, "Great. Okay, then. Bye, Em," and _he called me that again._

And instead of saying anything close to showing how she feels on the inside, she closes her eyes, and she says, "Bye."


	103. If You Went Away

"Wait! It could be dangerous, we don't know what's down there," Emma says, pulling her gun off her waistband. "Stay behind us, okay?"

Regina and Killian both roll their eyes, to which she looks to them and lowers her gun, stomping her foot, "Look, we don't know what kind of protections she has on th-"

David puts his hand on her arm and shakes his head, looking over at her, "Not worth it."

Regina looks over at Killian as if they've made a silent pact before turning back to Emma, "We'll just wait up here. For backup," she suggests and Emma nods in agreement, looking over at David, who's broken the lock on the cellar door and opens it as she nods.

She keeps her arm outstretched with the gun in front of her as she walks down the stairs to the cellar. She comes into view of a cage- and automatically fires once, a warning to the monkey- or whatever else- could be in there.

She slowly walks forwards, peering down as she walks forwards to see what's in the cage- more importantly, if it looks like it could kill her.

She steps back in shock a bit as she sees what's- _who's_ being held captive.

"Neal?" she whispers, staring into the cage in shock- she'd been expecting _anything_ else. Another witch, a flying monkey, his father… anything and anyone but Neal.

He picks his head up from where it's resting on his arms to look at her. "Emma?" he asks, still quiet and his voice raspy- almost like he's been crying. It would make sense, as he's more bloody and bruised than she's ever seen him.

She steps forwards, grabbing a very simple, homemade lock picking kit out of her pocket- her forgetfulness pays of sometimes, especially when she accidentally leaves stuff like this in her pockets- and she makes quick work of the lock, letting the door swing open while she walks over to him.

She hadn't expected this to make her so… _emotional._ She'd expected for them to maybe catch up, _maybe_ to hug him, but definitely something a little calmer. Nothing too overwhelming.

Instead, she kneels in front of him and her eyes immediately tear up. "Hey," she mumbles, lightly touching the deep cut on the side of his face- it'd scabbed over, but it's clearly getting infected.

He looks her in the eyes, giving her that _look._ The look that says 'you're my world'. She looks back at him and practically launches herself at him, holding onto him for dear life.

And within seconds, they're both crying. She can feel him trying not to make any sounds; trying not to shake. She's doing the same, holding back as much as she can. But, _god,_ she missed him. She missed him more than anything- even if she couldn't really remember him. At least, not in a good way. Not like now.

It feels like it's been an hour- well, maybe not an hour, but at least a really long time- before she feels someone tapping on her shoulder and she pulls away, only to look up and see David. "Sorry, honey, but we have to go," he whispers, and she nods, leaning back all the way and standing.

Neal stays where he is, but his eyes follow her as she stands and she looks down at him, tilting her head in confusion. "Are you coming?" she asks, looking down at him and she can see his breathing speed up as she watches him.

He looks away from her then, and she looks over at David, who just looks back at Neal. She squats down, reaching over to take his hand, "Neal," she gets his attention before starting to talk again, "we've got to go. Come on," she whispers, standing and continuing to hold his hand to help him up.

They get out to the outside of the cellar and David pulls the car around- neither him or Emma is sure the state that Neal's in, but they're sure that Whale at least needs to check him out- regardless, he doesn't have the energy to walk all the way across the field to the car.

While they wait, Neal turns to Emma, "So, what now?"

She shrugs, looking at the car as it approaches, "We wait for Henry to get his memories back, and then once that happens we can all stop living at Granny's and find a legit place to live, hopefully," she turns to face him, and he's smiling so big she thinks his face might crack in half, "What?"

He shakes his head, still smiling, "Looks like you're planting some roots, huh?"

She rolls her eyes and bumps into him- gently, though. She still isn't sure how badly he's hurt- more importantly, where- and she doesn't want to upset it more. "You're not gonna mention how I just suggested living together?"

His eyes nearly pop out of his head.

"Wait, you did?!"


	104. How'd You Look So Perfect

"These are cute," Emma says, picking up a pair of shoes and holding them out for Neal to look at- Neal who'd zoned out twenty minutes ago as his input was no longer relevant- it may have been _required,_ for some reason, but it was certainly not actually taken into consideration. Which is why he'd stopped responding.

He snaps out of it, looking up and nodding, watching as Emma breaks into a smile and puts them back, "Come on, which ones do you like?" she asks, standing back and looking at the wall of shoes, crossing her arms over her chest while weighing her options.

He shakes his head, looking up at her, "I've already said it, like, four times, Em. I like the blue ones that you tried on a while ago," he explains, standing from where he's sitting on the designated 'trying shoes on' bench and stepping forwards to wrap his arms around her waist. He rests his head on her shoulder, "I love you, but this should _not_ be this hard," he whispers, letting go of her and stepping backwards.

She turns around to look at him, fairly upset that he's not standing and engaging in the staring, "Where are you going?" she groans, grabbing his hand.

He shakes his head, "I need a break, we're gonna be here forever," he explains, letting go of her hand, starting to walk off. She starts to follow him, grabbing his hand again, "No, _you_ are on shoes duty," he protests and she shakes her head, looking back at the racks.

"I can't decide, though! _Please_ ," she begs and he shakes his head, sighing and wrapping his arm around her, "thank you."

They begin to wander when Emma stops, pulling away from Neal, rushing over to a dress she's found on a rack- one labeled with the prices, which are definitely _not_ in their price range. "Em, there is no way we'll be able to afford that _and_ shoes, and you're the one who came up with the rule," he gives her a pointed look as she stands, the dress in pressed against her front as if she's trying it on.

She shakes her head, pulling it away from her and looking it up and down again- he can see what she likes about it- there are sunflowers all over it- it would match her _hair,_ for the love of god, "I'll at least try it on," she walks towards the dividers in the middle- the hall of changing rooms, where he's told to wait outside.

He starts thinking of the exit strategy, because if he knows his girl, which he'd like to think he does _,_ he knows that she's not going to want to leave without that dress if it looks even half decent on her- despite her 'no ripping off Old Navy' rule.

And just when he thinks he's almost got it completely planned out, she opens the door and he can't help but lose his train of thought, because _she looks beautiful._ Not her normal beautiful, because she does always look beautiful, but the special kind of beautiful where you can tell that she's not trying too hard, but based on the look on her face, you'd almost think otherwise.

He must be frozen for a second because she comes out of the room completely and asks, "Do you like it?"

It takes him a second to snap out of it and nod, looking her in the eyes, "Yeah," he takes a deep breath, "You- you look _perfect,_ Em," he confirms.

She just smiles- she's not sure if anyone's ever said that about her before- "Thank you," she shrugs her shoulders up a little bit- nervous habit- and looks down at the dress. "So, you think it's worth it?" she asks.

It's then when he knows that his face must've made an impression on her, because never, not even _once,_ has she mentioned considering the possibility of breaking the rule. She _loves_ this place- he knows it'd probably break her heart to have to do that, so he shakes his head, "If you think so- I'm sure we could come back, if not," he suggests.

She nods, looking back down at the dress, "Yeah, probably. I'll wait," she decides and he nods- he can't say that he's not just a little disappointed, because he's not sure that he's seen her look so confident in anything _ever,_ but he's also sure that she'd probably cry over breaking that rule later tonight if she did it.

So, she goes back into the dressing room, returns the dress to the worker hanging stuff up, and walks right back to look at the shoes once again.

* * *

A week later, Neal comes back to the car after a day that's busy for both of them. Emma had already been to the library, and Neal had been doing some job- mowing a lawn or raking someone's leaves or something.

He opens the passenger side door, sliding in and taking her hand, "Cover your eyes," he commands, and she looks at him in confusion before deciding to do what he's asked.

He pulls out whatever it is from a bag- _Dear God, what has he done?-_ "You can open them," he tells her, and she does, only to find him holding the sunflower dress from the week before.

Her face immediately lights up and she lunges across the seats, throwing herself at him, "Thank you!" she says, quite loudly, into his ear, "Wait, you didn't-?" she asks, but he cuts her off.

"Nah, if I wanted to do that I would've just done it on Tuesday- here," he yanks the receipt out of the bag, showing her- or at least trying to.

She shakes her head, "It's okay, I believe you," she laughs, smoothing the fabric of the dress out on her lap, "Thank you!" she says again, leaning over the center console to hug him again.

He can't help but smile as he hugs her back, running his hands through her hair, "You're welcome," he says back, chuckling a little bit as she hugs him a little tighter, "I love you," he tells her, leaning back to kiss her.

"I love you, too."


	105. It's A Quarter Past Midnight

Neal puts his book down, hearing his phone ringing in the other room. He hadn't thought anybody would still be up this late, unless it's an emergency, seeing as they've been sleep deprived for the past few weeks, and the only reason he's awake is because they've just escaped his very own personal nightmare island and he'd like to not relive it just yet.

He stands, following the noise until he's clearly in the same room as it, and then he just has to figure out where in the sheets he'd thrown it when he'd taken it off of the charger. It's not like it's useful for anything besides texting and taking calls- he really needs an upgrade, despite not wanting a smartphone.

Once he finds it, he picks up the phone to find Emma's name flashing across the screen. He doesn't hesitate to answer it- he knows that Henry'd gone home with Regina (she'd been pretty upset about it, as far as he could tell), but he had no way of knowing that she wasn't calling to tell him that something's wrong with their kid.

She greets him first, becoming silent after just saying, "Hey," and his interest is piqued from there.

"Hey, what's up?" he asks, walking back into the room that he'd been in, putting the phone on speaker and setting it down on the table so that he'd be able to take out the newspaper- he'd forgotten until now that he needs to look at the classifieds for apartment openings, he might as well do it while he still remembers.

She's quiet for a second before she starts talking, "Well, I just wanted to check on you, make sure you're okay, all that good stuff. I know that wasn't exactly anybody's idea of a good time, but it seems like it might've been a little more… _traumatic_ for you," she explains and he takes just a second to think about this amazing, beautiful human being and what he _possibly_ did to deserve this.

"Oh, well, thanks! I'm okay, for the most part, I'm just looking at apartments right now in the newspaper," he explains, flipping a page.

She doesn't seem to take note of the whole 'looking at apartments' part, "For the most part? What's wrong?" she asks.

As he's said before, the woman doesn't stop until she finds what she's looking for, "Noth- I'm just having a hard time _wanting_ to go to bed, is all," he explains, chuckling as quiet as he can- he prays to god she didn't hear him puff the air out of his nose.

He hears a ruffling against the phone- he's sure that she's nodding against the phone, as she does, "Yeah, me too, I guess. I mean, I'm exhausted, don't get me wrong, but it's like… I don't know, it's like I know I'll just lay there if I try to sleep now," she explains and he puts the newspaper down- it's time to focus on her now, on what's bothering her so much.

He doesn't want to upset her by asking too many questions, which is bound to make conversation from this point on _oh-so-easy,_ "Is it because Henry's with Regina, or is it just the trauma of having been on that demon-run island?"

He waits, and doesn't expect to get a response until he does, "Well, mostly 'cause Henry's with Regina, and before you say anything," he'd already started to interrupt and tell her that he'd be fine with his mom for a night, "I know he's safe, it's just… he's not here. It's weird," she finishes.

He tries to offset the sadness- the _fear_ that she has, "Are you lonely, Em?" he teases and he hears her laugh a little bit.

"Yes," she whines.

He waits a second, trying to come up with a way to invite her over without freaking her out, "Well, me too. You could come over- or I could come over there, whatever," he pauses, and she doesn't say anything, "I have ice cream."

He can hear her start moving around and he can only hope that she's not panicking ( _if she is, at least he tried his best_ ) and wait for her to say something.

"I'll be there in ten minutes?" she waits to confirm and he hears the movement on the other end cease for a minute.

He nods, smiling from ear to ear because _finally,_ he's found a way to at least be able to talk to her without her moaning and groaning about how she doesn't want to talk to him ( _who can blame her, anyway, after what he'd done to her?_ ) and it's the best feeling in the world because at least they can be friends.

Finally, they can be friends.


	106. Can You Keep Me Close, Can You Love Me?

Emma wakes up, feeling the bed next to her- more importantly, not feeling Neal, who's supposed to be next to her after she deliberately told him earlier that night that he was not to run off for any reason whatsoever or she'd call Regina to give him a talking to- or worse, she'd tell her _mother._

He'd agreed- having had the fear of God put into him more than once in less than twenty-four hours will usually inspire one to do something like that.

Now, she's not so sure that he actually believed her. He should've. She will.

She immediately throws the blankets off of herself, speed-walking across the upstairs portion of the apartment to go and see if he's downstairs- she should probably be more pissed than scared, but she can't help but be afraid that someone hurt him, or even took him.

She's not looking in front of her, but instead at the ground, when she runs straight into something (some _one_ ). She steps back, not having fallen, and blinks a few times, a little dizzy after that encounter.

"Hey, you okay?"

She hasn't noticed any cause for someone to think that she _isn't_ okay, but now, she's noticing that she's breathing fast and heavy and she's sweating just a little and she can't tell if she's been crying or not.

She nods, avoiding eye contact, even though she can feel that he's watching her. He steps forward, putting his hand on her arm, and she starts tearing up.

He pulls her to him and she quickly attaches herself to him, hiding her face in his shoulder, "I woke up and you were gone, and I- I thought something happened," she's stuttering over her words, clinging to him like there's no tomorrow, and she's given up trying to keep herself together.

Now, he's only ever seen this side of her a handful of time- usually, it was fixable with a couple minutes of cuddle time and a promise for ice cream. But, that was then. This is now, after years of heartbreak and misery and loneliness and he's almost a hundred percent sure that ice cream won't fix it.

At least, not entirely.

However, cuddles might.

He's not in the mood to try to get her back to bed- he knows her too well, and she's not going back to sleep until she's absolutely certain that nothing is happening within the next- what, six hours?- so that she can go back to sleep.

Instead, he just stands and he keeps rubbing her back and remembers how terrified she looked earlier in the woods. How that feeling is going to stick with her for the rest of the night, probably the rest of the week, possibly the rest of the month. How that look on her face is going to stick with him for longer.

He squeezes her extra tight when he thinks about what would've happened if he'd actually died, if she hadn't thought to just kiss him. How she'd have to come home and tell her parents, how she'd have to keep it from _Henry,_ of all people, seemed to be her number one confidant at the moment.

He does that, and suddenly (maybe he's been stuck in his head... maybe it's not so sudden) she's hyperventilating and her hold on him's getting weaker, "Emma, breathe," he pulls himself completely out of his head, out of the memories from earlier, and he loosens his hold on her just enough to lead her back to her room.

He sits her down on the edge of her bed and he squats down in front of her and takes her hands, "Hey," he squeezes her hands, "Em, look at me."

He's not convinced she'll listen- she doesn't always want to be taken care of, especially when she needs it,- but she does.

Her eyes are dancing between him and something behind them, but she's looking at him at least a little bit, "Everything's okay, alright?" she shakes her head just faintly enough for him to be able to know what she's doing, "It is. Now, in general, you're right, it _is_ absolute chaos, okay? There's a witch running around casting spells and throwing fireballs, we can't remember anything from the past year, and Henry's still oblivious, but _right now,_ as we speak, none of that matters. Not even a little. That's all out there," he gestures outside the window and she chuckles just a little bit, just enough for him to feel okay about smiling.

He takes her hand back and squeezes it, "We're okay. And I know it didn't seem like we even _possibly_ could be earlier, but we are. We're okay," she nods- she seems to be doing better now, she's not breathing as heavy as before, she seems like she might've calmed down some- and he feels just a little bit proud that his hope speech might have done her some good.

He sits and he avoids eye contact while she calms down completely. He's still holding both of her hands, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles in sync with the breaths she's taking, trying to help her feel a little safer.

Once she's calmed down and they're just sitting there, she looks at Neal, "We have ice cream," she suggests and he smiles, standing and taking both of her hands to help her up.

He deliberately walks behind her on the stairs, still not completely trusting that her legs are capable of supporting her- usually, she's still a little weak after this kind of thing (he thinks it's normal, it's happened to him, too) and he doesn't want her to fall, especially on the _metal stairs._

They get to the kitchen and she walks over to the freezer, when he takes her by the shoulders and leads her to the counter to sit, "I'll do it, please sit down," he tries to be quiet, minding her parents who have already gone to sleep in the other room.

She starts to protest, but gives in when he puts on his 'i'm serious' face.

About twenty minutes later, they've made their way back upstairs and they sit on the bed, just being quiet, Neal's hand on Emma's. "I'm really sorry," she mumbles and he looks up at her, squinting and tilting his head.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I just- I needed help," she explains, plopping back against the bed.

"Em. It's okay to need help. I'm glad I was able to help. Please don't feel bad, okay? You're doing better now, that's all that matters. And, I got ice cream, too, so…" She nods, watching as he scoots back and leans against the bed with her. "So, bedtime?" he asks, taking her hand.

She nods, looking over at him, "As long as you'll be here in the morning," she asks, squeezing his hand and looking at him, waiting for him to respond.

He pulls his hand away and puts out his pinky, "Promise."

She laughs at him, taking his pinky with hers and shaking on it before setting up to go to bed.


End file.
